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Jake Allen (ice hockey)

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Jake Allen
Allen with the St. Louis Blues in 2019
Born (1990-08-07) August 7, 1990 (age 34)
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 New Jersey Devils
St. Louis Blues
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft 34th overall, 2008
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2010–present

Jake Allen (born August 7, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 34th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. Allen has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

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Amateur

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Allen was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and played for the Midget "AAA" Fredericton Canadiens before being selected in the third round of the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft by the St. John's Fog Devils.[1] After one season with the Fog Devils, Allen was chosen to play for the Under-18 World Hockey Championship in Kazan, Russia where he won gold and was named both top goalie and tournament MVP.[2] In 2008, the Fog Devils were sold and relocated to Verdun, a Montreal suburb, becoming the Montreal Junior Hockey Club.[3] In December 2009, Allen represented Canada at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Saskatoon, winning silver after posting 4 wins and 1 subsequent loss in the final to the Americans.[4] Allen was traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs following the World Juniors tournament,[5] and posted a record of 18 wins and 3 losses with a save percentage of .933% and 1.75 GAA. He was named the recipient of the Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy as goaltender of the year in the QMJHL in 2009–10.

Professional

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St. Louis Blues

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Allen (left) with the St. Louis Blues in 2012.

On October 22, 2008, Allen was signed by the St. Louis Blues to an entry-level contract.[6] He made his NHL debut during the playoffs on April 30, 2012, coming in to briefly relieve Brian Elliott late in the Blues' second game against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference semi-finals. During the shortened 2012–13 season, Allen was recalled to the Blues and recorded his first career NHL start and win in a 4–3 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on February 13, 2013.[7]

On April 17, 2014, Allen was named the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award winner as the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Outstanding Goaltender for the 2013–14 season.[8]

On March 26, 2016, Allen registered a shutout versus the Washington Capitals to help the Blues break their franchise record for longest stretch without allowing a goal.[9] In the 2015–16 season, he had a 2.35 GAA with a .920 save percentage.

During the 2016–17 season, Allen was pulled four times in six starts during a rough stretch of play, including a poor showing on January 19, where he allowed four goals on 10 shots against the Washington Capitals.[10] Allen did not travel with the team to Winnipeg for the January 21 game against the Winnipeg Jets, and stayed home to be with his newborn daughter. He was scheduled to rejoin the team on January 23, for the remaining two games of the road trip.[11] His play soon rebounded however, and he was named Second Star of the Week on February 13.[12] Allen went 3–0–0 with a 1.00 goals-against average, a .967 save percentage along with his 13th career shutout against the Ottawa Senators (February 7). His two other wins were against the Toronto Maple Leafs (2–1 OT, 31 saves, February 9), and Montreal Canadiens (February 11).[13]

Allen won the Stanley Cup in 2019 as the backup to rookie Jordan Binnington in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. He had begun the season as the starting goaltender, however, after the team dove to last place in the league half way through the season, the latter was given a shot. While Binnington shone in goal, Allen finished the second half of the season with a pedestrian 5–4–4 record.[14]

Montreal Canadiens

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Allen in net for the Canadiens in 2021

On September 2, 2020, Allen was traded to the Montreal Canadiens with a 2022 seventh-round pick in exchange for 2020 third-round and seventh-round picks.[15] On October 14, Allen signed a two-year, $5.75 million contract extension with the Canadiens taking him through the 2022–23 season.[16]

Allen immediately distinguished himself as a backup goaltender to Carey Price, especially during a stretch of the 2020–21 season where Price was unable to play due to a concussion. Allen's performance in net was widely credited with allowing the Canadiens to make the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, though Allen did not play during the playoffs themselves following Price's return.[17][18] It was widely assumed that Allen would be taken by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, as the rules allowed for teams to protect only one goaltender, and Price had a contractual guarantee of such protection. However, Price and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin opted to waive Price's contractual guarantee and expose him, allowing them to protect Allen while calculating that Price's age and salary would deter the Kraken from taking him.[19]

Following Price entering into the NHLPA's Player Assistance Program at the start of the 2021–22 season, Allen was again the Canadiens' starting goaltender. He was generally judged to be performing strongly even as the team struggled to score, notably posting a 45-save shutout in an October 28 road game against the San Jose Sharks that represented the Canadiens' first victory in San Jose since November 23, 1999.[20] On January 12, 2022, Allen sustained a groin injury in a game against the Boston Bruins, and it was announced that he would miss eight weeks of the season.[21] He returned to the team for a March 17 game against the Dallas Stars, making several noteworthy saves in a 4–3 overtime loss.[22] Allen made ten more appearances in net with the Canadiens, but was forced to exit an April 9 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after suffering a lower body injury while attempting to stop a shot by Leafs star forward Auston Matthews. Shortly afterward he called it a "season from hell."[23] As a result of this new groin injury, he missed the remainder of the season.[24]

That offseason, it became clear that Price would at a minimum be unable to play in the 2022–23 season. As a result, Allen, entering the final year of his contract with the Canadiens, became its new starting goaltender.[25] On September 28, general manager Kent Hughes confirmed that he was hoping to negotiate a contract extension with Allen.[26] On October 1, Allen signed a two-year, $7.7 million extension with the Canadiens.[27] The ensuing season was marked by the ascending profile of Allen's former backup goaltender, Sam Montembeault, who enjoyed success early on in a supporting role before taking over for a stretch of games in January when Allen was injured.[28] Upon Allen's return to the lineup, he and Montembeault largely alternated starts on an equal basis.[29] Allen finished third in Molson Cup voting as the team's most valuable player at the end of the year, behind captain Nick Suzuki and Montembeault.[30]

The Canadiens began the 2023–24 season with three goaltenders on the roster, as in addition to Allen and Montembeault, prospect goaltender Cayden Primeau was no longer exempt from waivers and thus could not be sent down to the AHL's Laval Rocket without possibly being lost to another team. This precipitated discussions about one of the three being traded.[31] Allen appeared in 21 games with the Canadiens that season, with a 6–12–3 record and .892 save percentage.[32]

New Jersey Devils

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On March 8, 2024, Allen was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional 2025 third-round pick.[33] Allen made his Devils debut on March 14, making 35 saves in a 6–2 victory over the Dallas Stars.[34] On October 14, 2024, Allen recorded a 20-save shutout in a 3–0 victory against the Utah Hockey Club. It was the first loss in franchise history for Utah, and Allen became the first goaltender in NHL history to record a win against 33 different franchises.[35]

Personal life

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As a teenager, Allen was a promising young golfer, and won back-to-back Junior Golf Championships on the same course he worked on up until he was drafted to the NHL.[36]

Allen and his wife Shannon have three daughters.[37]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2007–08 St. John's Fog Devils QMJHL 30 9 8 4 1,507 76 2 3.14 .901 4 2 1 128 8 0 3.74 .855
2008–09 Montreal Junior Hockey Club QMJHL 53 28 25 0 3,023 144 3 2.86 .916 10 4 6 585 35 1 3.59 .897
2009–10 Montreal Junior Hockey Club QMJHL 23 11 11 0 1,241 55 1 2.66 .912 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 22 18 3 0 1,271 37 3 1.75 .933 14 9 5 840 34 1 2.43 .899
2010–11 Peoria Rivermen AHL 47 25 19 3 2,805 118 6 2.52 .917 3 0 3 189 12 0 3.80 .888
2011–12 Peoria Rivermen AHL 38 13 20 2 2,148 105 1 2.93 .915 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 St. Louis Blues NHL — — — — — — — — — 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 1.000
2012–13 Peoria Rivermen AHL 35 13 19 2 2,054 99 2 2.89 .904 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 St. Louis Blues NHL 15 9 4 0 804 33 1 2.46 .905 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Chicago Wolves AHL 52 33 16 3 3,138 106 7 2.03 .928 9 3 6 511 28 1 3.29 .879
2014–15 St. Louis Blues NHL 37 22 7 4 2,077 79 4 2.28 .913 6 2 4 328 12 0 2.20 .904
2015–16 St. Louis Blues NHL 47 26 15 3 2,584 101 6 2.35 .920 5 1 1 170 7 0 2.49 .897
2016–17 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 33 20 5 3,419 138 4 2.42 .915 11 6 5 675 22 0 1.96 .935
2017–18 St. Louis Blues NHL 59 27 25 3 3,317 152 1 2.75 .906 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 St. Louis Blues NHL 46 19 17 8 2,568 121 3 2.83 .905 1 0 0 24 1 0 2.45 .750
2019–20 St. Louis Blues NHL 24 12 6 3 1,339 48 2 2.15 .927 5 2 1 286 9 0 1.89 .935
2020–21 Montreal Canadiens NHL 29 11 12 5 1,703 76 0 2.68 .907 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 35 9 20 4 1,948 107 2 3.30 .905 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 42 15 24 3 2,451 145 1 3.55 .891 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 Montreal Canadiens NHL 21 6 12 3 1,216 74 0 3.65 .892 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 New Jersey Devils NHL 13 6 6 1 771 40 0 3.11 .900 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 429 195 168 42 24,194 1,114 24 2.76 .907 29 11 11 1,456 51 0 2.06 .925

Awards and honours

[edit]
Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's ice hockey
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Russia
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2010 Canada
Allen in 2014, with the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award.
Award Year Ref
CHL
CHL First All-Star Team 2010 [38]
CHL Goaltender of the Year 2010 [39]
QMJHL
Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy 2010 [40]
First All-Star Team 2010 [40]
AHL
All-Star Game 2011, 2014 [41][42]
First All-Star Team 2014 [43]
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award 2014 [8]
NHL
All-Rookie Team 2013, 2015 [44]
Stanley Cup champion 2019 [45]
International
WJC18 All-Star Team 2008 [46]
WJC18 Best Goaltender 2008 [2]
WJC18 MVP 2008 [47]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "QMJHL Entry Draft - Players Drafted by St. John's Fog Devils". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Canada strikes gold at Under-18 world hockey championship – Jake Allen named best goaltender". CHL.ca. April 28, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Fog Devils sold, move planned to Quebec". CBC News. January 23, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "U.S. beats Canada to win gold medal at world junior hockey championship". ESPN.com. January 5, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "Canadian goalie Allen returns to Fredericton". CBC News. January 8, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  6. ^ "Player Bio – Jake Allen". The Hockey News. January 2, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  7. ^ Korac, Lou (February 13, 2013). "Steen's tally lifts Blues past Red Wings in OT". NHL.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Allen nabs Bastien Award as top goalie". TheAHL.com. April 17, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Brown, Katie (March 26, 2016). "Blues blank Capitals to continue streak". NHL.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Korac, Lou (January 19, 2017). "Capitals score seven for second straight game". NHL.com.
  11. ^ Pinkert, Chris (January 21, 2017). "Players, coaches show support for Allen". St. Louis Blues – via NHL.com.
  12. ^ "Jason Pominville leads 3 Stars of the Week". NHL.com. February 13, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "Allen named NHL's second star of the week". St. Louis Blues. February 13, 2017 – via NHL.com.
  14. ^ Davies, Steven (March 17, 2020). "Jake Allen: From Seasoned Starter to Stanley Cup Backup". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Allen traded to Canadiens by Blues". NHL.com. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Canadiens sign Jake Allen to a two-year contract extension". Montreal Canadiens. October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  17. ^ Cowan, Stu (July 14, 2021). "Canadiens can't afford to lose goalie Jake Allen to Seattle". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  18. ^ High, Sebastian (July 13, 2021). "Montreal Canadiens: 2020-21 Report Card Grades For Every Player". FanSided. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Cowan, Stu (July 21, 2021). "Canadiens can move forward with Carey Price and Jake Allen". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "Allen earns SO, Habs blank Sharks". TSN.ca. October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "Allen out eight weeks for Canadiens with lower-body injury". NHL.com. January 21, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  22. ^ Hickey, Pat (March 18, 2022). "Controversial ending sours solid effort from Montreal". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  23. ^ Engels, Eric (April 9, 2022). "Despite 'season from hell,' Allen has left considerable mark on young Canadiens". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  24. ^ "Canadiens' Allen, Barron out for remainder of the season". Sportsnet.ca. April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  25. ^ Cowan, Stu (September 28, 2022). "Canadiens' Jake Allen to play 'stabilizer' role this season". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  26. ^ LeBrun, Pierre (September 28, 2022). "How Canadiens GM Kent Hughes plans to re-tool without creating 'losing culture'". The Athletic. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  27. ^ "Canadiens sign goalie Jake Allen to two-year, $7.7M contract extension". Sportsnet.ca. October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  28. ^ Hickey, Pat (January 25, 2023). "Canadiens' Jake Allen not threatened by Sam Montembeault's success". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  29. ^ Szporer, Ryan (March 18, 2023). "Canadiens' Goalie Montembeault Lays Claim to No. 1 Job". The Hockey Writers.
  30. ^ "Nick Suzuki wins the Canadiens' Molson Cup Player of the Year". Montreal Canadiens. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  31. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (November 20, 2023). "How Long Will the Montreal Canadiens Keep Three Goalies?". The Hockey News. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Jake Allen traded to New Jersey for a conditional third-round pick in 2025". Montreal Canadiens. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  33. ^ "Devils Acquire Goaltender Allen from Montreal". New Jersey Devils. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  34. ^ Baird, Taylor (March 15, 2024). "Allen makes 35 saves in debut, Devils defeat Stars". NHL.com. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  35. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (October 14, 2024). "Devils hand Utah 1st loss of inaugural season behind Allen's 20-save shutout". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  36. ^ "How golf kick-started unlikely career for Blues' Allen". Sportsnet.ca. November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  37. ^ Cowan, Stu (October 20, 2022). "Jake Allen back with Canadiens after birth of third daughter". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  38. ^ "Awards - CHL First All-Star Team". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  39. ^ "CHL Announces 2009-10 Award Winners". CHL.ca. May 22, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  40. ^ a b "Hoffman named MVP of the QMJHL". Sportsnet.ca. April 1, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  41. ^ "2011 All-Star rosters unveiled". TheAHL.com. January 11, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  42. ^ "AHL roster named for 2014 All-Star Classic". TheAHL.com. January 9, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  43. ^ "First, Second Team AHL All-Stars named". TheAHL.com. April 10, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  44. ^ "Allen Named to NHL All-Rookie Team". St. Louis Blues. June 29, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013 – via NHL.com.
  45. ^ Fraser, Elizabeth (August 1, 2019). "St. Louis Blues' Jake Allen brings Stanley Cup to Fredericton". CBC News. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  46. ^ "Awards - U18 WJC All-Star Team". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  47. ^ "IIHF U18 World Championship - Directorate Awards & Most Valuable Player". Hockey Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award
2013–14 		Succeeded by
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