Confirmed with Link: Jake Allen Traded to MTL

[Novacain]

Right, everyone and their brother cried for years to get rid of him, and now he’s considered a huge loss that we’ll never recover from?

For me it's not losing Allen in and of itself, but having no contingency pan as backup if Husso didn't play well that frustrates me.

Maybe they didn't want to put a Brian Elliot in front of a Ben Bishop again, which I can understand, But if you fancy yourself a contender in modern NHL, you either need a proven elite goaltender or a backup you can rely on in a pinch, and we didn't enter the season with either, and it shows.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

For me it's not losing Allen in and of itself, but having no contingency pan as backup if Husso didn't play well that frustrates me.

Maybe they didn't want to put a Brian Elliot in front of a Ben Bishop again, which I can understand, But if you fancy yourself a contender in modern NHL, you either need a proven elite goaltender or a backup you can rely on in a pinch, and we didn't enter the season with either, and it shows.

That’s fair. And I get what you’re saying, but at the same time they had to eventually see what they had in Ville. Obviously right now it hasn’t turned out great, but I can’t fault them too much for giving it a shot.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

For me it's not losing Allen in and of itself, but having no contingency pan as backup if Husso didn't play well that frustrates me.

Maybe they didn't want to put a Brian Elliot in front of a Ben Bishop again, which I can understand, But if you fancy yourself a contender in modern NHL, you either need a proven elite goaltender or a backup you can rely on in a pinch, and we didn't enter the season with either, and it shows.

There are less than the usual avenues to obtain goalie options. I think Gillies was probably the back-up plan. He has NHL experience.

Husso will fulfill the requirement for a goalie to expose in the draft. It also won’t surprise me at all if the Blues sign a vet back-up for next year or even deal for someone at the trade deadline. In that case, it would be someone who could potentially take some starts from Binnington in the short term.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I think the only reason we get a goalie at the trade deadline is if we're taking back a contract to facilitate a trade. Perhaps someone who's got a 3rd goalie making decent coin who'd prefer a cheap option like Husso that they hope they never have to play, but I don't have time to scan all the rosters to see who if anyone that might be.

Offseason? Sure, probably likely because I seriously doubt Husso gets picked by Seattle unless we pay them to do it.

 

[Ranksu]

Damn I miss him.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Damn I miss him.

I mean, that play happens to almost every goalie in the league.

 

[TheDizee]

Damn I miss him.

If he did that in a Blues uniform, it would have been a epic meltdown on here

 

[Stealth JD]

If he did that in a Blues uniform, it would have been a epic meltdown on here

Only because he has done that in a Blues uniform. Multiple times.

 

[GoldenSeal]

For me it's not losing Allen in and of itself, but having no contingency pan as backup if Husso didn't play well that frustrates me.

Maybe they didn't want to put a Brian Elliot in front of a Ben Bishop again, which I can understand, But if you fancy yourself a contender in modern NHL, you either need a proven elite goaltender or a backup you can rely on in a pinch, and we didn't enter the season with either, and it shows.

I'd take Brian Elliott backing up Binny because I know if we needed Moose and he got hot when we walked into the playoffs that NO ONE is stopping us. When he gets hot, it's legendary, plus his goalie mechanics are second to none. He'd be the perfect person to help coach Husso.

Jake Allen's a netminder that you wait for either something to go wrong or for another netminder to steal his spot. His issue is in his head and he's doing well and the Habs Fans are loving him, but watch when he slips a little and the Habs Fans crucify him. The pressure from those fans and the "Culture" of Montreal in terms of the Habs would turn Allen into dust.

 

[mw2noobbuster]

I mean, that play happens to almost every goalie in the league.

Some, more than others.

 

[TheDizee]

 

[Brian39]

I'd take Brian Elliott backing up Binny because I know if we needed Moose and he got hot when we walked into the playoffs that NO ONE is stopping us. When he gets hot, it's legendary, plus his goalie mechanics are second to none. He'd be the perfect person to help coach Husso.

Jake Allen's a netminder that you wait for either something to go wrong or for another netminder to steal his spot. His issue is in his head and he's doing well and the Habs Fans are loving him, but watch when he slips a little and the Habs Fans crucify him. The pressure from those fans and the "Culture" of Montreal in terms of the Habs would turn Allen into dust.

Have you watched Elliott play much in the last two years? He is cooked.

He has lost a couple steps with age and has some of the worst mechanics in the NHL at this point. He no longer has nearly enough explosiveness in his lateral movement. The once-solid foundation has crumbled and his game has fully fallen apart. He was never the most athletic guy and always had to "battle" to keep up with the speed of the NHL. At 36, the athleticism is worse than ever and he has passed the point where "battling" can overcome the lack of speed/explosiveness.

All of his stats are on par or worse than Husso's. He's posted a sub-.820 SV% 9 times this year, which is basically once in every 3 appearances. Husso has done that just twice. He's finished as an NHL goalie and we are better off with Husso at $750k instead of Moose at $1.5M this year. We utilized every dollar of cap space this season and spending an extra $750k in net would have forced us to dress less than 18 skaters at least once this year.

Edit: I'm breaking this in to 2 posts

 

[Brian39]

Husso hasn't been good enough and I'd be surprised if we don't bring in a guy to at least compete for the backup job next year. However, we do need to consider that we are paying just $50k above the league minimum for Husso and that there are 115 goalies with higher cap hits. You are usually spending an extra $250k-$750k for the veteran NHL-caliber backup and I don't know that we could have brought in Hoffman if we had paid that. Remember, we were going to need to move a contract out to bring Tarasenko back before Gunnar hit LTIR. We quite literally didn't have the extra $250k-$750k to buy a comfortably-NHL level backup.

Tokarski was an option, but I don't think anyone would be comfortable with him as the backup. Same with Aaron Dell. Same with Keith Kinkaid. Same with Malcolm Subban. Hutchinson is really the only guy making under $1M that fits the bill and he was never going to pick the Blues over Toronto. He is from Ontario and had a chance to get a 2 year deal where he'd be playing in Toronto whether he was in the NHL, taxi squad or AHL. In a pandemic, there is zero chance he is turning that down to come here for similar money.

Again, Husso hasn't been good enough. However, even if you ignore that we needed to find out what we had with him, we have to consider that there was a tangible (and necessary) cap benefit to have him in the lineup. This roster isn't winning a Cup if Binner goes down. There was no bargain goalie on the market capable of winning 2+ rounds behind this roster (or more accurately, no goalie more likely than Husso to have a miracle 2 months). I'm comfortable saying that swapping out Allen for Husso and Hoffman gave the team a better chance at the Cup this year. Husso is 8-5-1 this year. How many more points would we have in those games with Allen back there? Are we 9-3-2? 9-2-3? That's about as far as I think you could stretch it with a straight face and it is only a 4 point difference in the standings. Now how many fewer points do we have without Hoffman? Hoffman is 3rd on the team in scoring, 2nd in goals, 1st in PP goals and is the best 6 on 5 scorer in the league. I'm comfortable saying that not having him would have cost the team more points than the backup downgrade has.

It is clear that we need to explore backup options this summer, but I don't think it is accurate to say that our approach to the position this season has cost the team.

 

[TruBlu]

I'd feel a lot better if we'd have known that Petro was going to leave. We could have kept Allen as a backup/tandem, etc. and had a chance in the playoffs. Husso isn't going to cut it. He's been given every chance in the world to succeed. He's...just...not...that...good.

 

[MissouriMook]

I'd feel a lot better if we'd have known that Petro was going to leave. We could have kept Allen as a backup/tandem, etc. and had a chance in the playoffs. Husso isn't going to cut it. He's been given every chance in the world to succeed. He's...just...not...that...good.

This is not the first time I've read this here and I am curious as to why you or anyone would consider having a good backup goalie as a requirement to "having a chance in the playoffs". Do you realize that in 2019 Allen played exactly 24:28 in a mop up role in a game we were losing 5-1 at the time? And you're going to spend an extra $3.6M on that? Pretty much any team outside of a precious few are in a world of hurt in the playoffs if their starting goalie goes down, and it is even more common in an environment where the cap is flat and teams try not to spend money unnecessarily on a player that is only going to play 15-20 games a season and not at all in the playoffs.

 

[GoldenSeal]

I'd feel a lot better if we'd have known that Petro was going to leave. We could have kept Allen as a backup/tandem, etc. and had a chance in the playoffs. Husso isn't going to cut it. He's been given every chance in the world to succeed. He's...just...not...that...good.

I think Jake Allen still walks. If he wants to be the Starter, the Blues will never be that team for him.

 

[Thallis]

I'd feel a lot better if we'd have known that Petro was going to leave. We could have kept Allen as a backup/tandem, etc. and had a chance in the playoffs. Husso isn't going to cut it. He's been given every chance in the world to succeed. He's...just...not...that...good.

The irony of posting this about Husso while pining for the return of Jake Allen is palpable.

 

[Sgt Schultz]

This is not the first time I've read this here and I am curious as to why you or anyone would consider having a good backup goalie as a requirement to "having a chance in the playoffs". Do you realize that in 2019 Allen played exactly 24:28 in a mop up role in a game we were losing 5-1 at the time? And you're going to spend an extra $3.6M on that? Pretty much any team outside of a precious few are in a world of hurt in the playoffs if their starting goalie goes down, and it is even more common in an environment where the cap is flat and teams try not to spend money unnecessarily on a player that is only going to play 15-20 games a season and not at all in the playoffs.

I've said since last year, Allen's contract was what was going to get him traded. It is a little more complicated than that, since we had to eventually either see what Husso had or unload him, but still, adding $3.6M for the backup goalie position is not exactly a great value.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

I think Jake Allen still walks. If he wants to be the Starter, the Blues will never be that team for him.

I think he would have been happy to be the backup here, but he's just too expensive for that. folks can kvetch about Husso all they want, but the team wanted to see what he has to offer, and he does it at a bargain price

 

[TruBlu]

The irony of posting this about Husso while pining for the return of Jake Allen is palpable.

Take a look at Jake's numbers from year to year instead of complaining that he relies on his athleticism, isn't an angles goalie, etc., and you'll see he is and always has been an NHL quality goaltender. Every goalie in the league goes through up/down years; even the elite ones, but jake's stretch just so happened to happen in a year when the entire team's makeup changed and they all looked like shit. I'll go on the record and say I'd rather have Jake as a backup than Husso.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

Take a look at Jake's numbers from year to year instead of complaining that he relies on his athleticism, isn't an angles goalie, etc., and you'll see he is and always has been an NHL quality goaltender. Every goalie in the league goes through up/down years; even the elite ones, but jake's stretch just so happened to happen in a year when the entire team's makeup changed and they all looked like shit. I'll go on the record and say I'd rather have Jake as a backup than Husso.

for an extra 2.5+ mil/yr? so that costs you a 3rd line player or 2 4ths... so who gets cut to keep allen? and you don't get to sign hoffman.

I would bet that Hoffman has contributed to more wins than Allen would have. it might not always be pretty, but Husso has a winning record as a backup. how many more wins would Allen actually have provided? 2?

 

[Thallis]

Take a look at Jake's numbers from year to year instead of complaining that he relies on his athleticism, isn't an angles goalie, etc., and you'll see he is and always has been an NHL quality goaltender. Every goalie in the league goes through up/down years; even the elite ones, but jake's stretch just so happened to happen in a year when the entire team's makeup changed and they all looked like shit. I'll go on the record and say I'd rather have Jake as a backup than Husso.

Jake Allen has 3 seasons out of his 8 year career where he performed as an average or above NHL goalie. One of those he imploded in the playoffs, having 0 quality starts in a 6 game series, another he had decent run, and the third he was a backup. He's a career negative GSAA, and he's even managed to play his way into that position this year after starting off hot. Jake doesn't have a stretch of bad play, he has a long career of it and a few odd years of decent play. He is the definition of getting chance after chance to succeed and just not being that good.

Husso is having a bad year. He might never make it as an NHL goalie. Still, I'd rather handle goalies in our system like this where they can actually develop facing NHL competition, giving them a chance to show their meddle as an NHL goalie while the team can spend money up front. We have a starting goaltender who can handle a 60 game workload, spending close to 3 Million on a backup is a waste. Spending that money on Jake Allen, even more so.

 

[TruBlu]

Jake Allen has 3 seasons out of his 8 year career where he performed as an average or above NHL goalie. One of those he imploded in the playoffs, having 0 quality starts in a 6 game series, another he had decent run, and the third he was a backup. He's a career negative GSAA, and he's even managed to play his way into that position this year after starting off hot. Jake doesn't have a stretch of bad play, he has a long career of it and a few odd years of decent play. He is the definition of getting chance after chance to succeed and just not being that good.

Husso is having a bad year. He might never make it as an NHL goalie. Still, I'd rather handle goalies in our system like this where they can actually develop facing NHL competition, giving them a chance to show their meddle as an NHL goalie while the team can spend money up front. We have a starting goaltender who can handle a 60 game workload, spending close to 3 Million on a backup is a waste. Spending that money on Jake Allen, even more so.

As compared to what? What's his (Husso) NHL level play been like in previous years? Jake's level of play compared to much of the team in a year and a half stretch, although substandard, was above many others on the team. I'm curious why you make the goalie, during that period of time when there were numerous changes in personnel, the problem. We probably aren't going to see eye to eye on this. Husso is definitely not the answer though.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

As compared to what? What's his (Husso) NHL level play been like in previous years? Jake's level of play compared to much of the team in a year and a half stretch, although substandard, was above many others on the team. I'm curious why you make the goalie, during that period of time when there were numerous changes in personnel, the problem. We probably aren't going to see eye to eye on this. Husso is definitely not the answer though.

isn't this Husso's 1st year at the NHL level?

I don't know if he's "the answer" , but we're talking about a backup goalie.. if he's not it, then there's others in the system..etc..
but to pay 3.5 for a backup for ~2-3 more wins in a season isn't the best use of salary resources IMO

 

[Thallis]

As compared to what? What's his (Husso) NHL level play been like in previous years?

Compared to every goalie in the NHL. This is his rookie season and the first NHL action he's seen.

Jake's level of play compared to much of the team in a year and a half stretch, although substandard, was above many others on the team. I'm curious why you make the goalie, during that period of time when there were numerous changes in personnel, the problem. We probably aren't going to see eye to eye on this. Husso is definitely not the answer though.

Jake's level of play throughout that stretch was statistically on par with Husso's current performance. He had some of the most favorable shot selections in the league and failed spectacularly. It wasn't above many others on the team, the only players worse than him were in and out of the lineup.