Rumor: Kevin Weekes Reports Allen Could Be Signed to Multi-Year Deal

[CDN24]

Why is he trying to be so weird about it?

Love that avatar

 

[StCaufield]

Makes sense to retain Allen with the lack of depth in our organization. He will be a fine stop gap until we find our new #1

He’s a real #1 goalie. He’s not super man though. No goalie is

 

[smirob]

Realistically....he's probably not returning a 1st come TDL anyways. We need a veteran goalie to bring up whoever is the next guy. As long as term and cost are reasonable....go for it.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Realistically....he's probably not returning a 1st come TDL anyways. We need a veteran goalie to bring up whoever is the next guy. As long as term and cost are reasonable....go for it.

If anyone thought he'd bring in a 1st at the TDL, I hope they share what they're smoking with the rest of the group.

 

[Treb]

That's cool, dont have a bad thing to say about Jakey
Good for the locker room too, can't all be 21 yr old kids lol
Like Adam was saying, He's good but he's not good enough to save a bad/young defense
Jake is a perfect stopgap while we're on the accelerated rebuild, it's up to HuGo to make sure we find a #1 goalie in the meantime
Probably a 2 year extension 3M/y


Hey, Monty got a 2 year deal you know lol

Primeau is waiver eligible next year though.

 

[smirob]

If anyone thought he'd bring in a 1st at the TDL, I hope they share what they're smoking with the rest of the group.

I was being facetious - but my main point is: if Allen returned a 2nd, is it worth losing a serviceable vet who has shown he wants to be in MTL

 

[John B]

Habs were rumored to be interested in Michael DiPietro as mentioned already by a few posters. There were also the tweet about the Habs talking with the Devils a while back. I was wondering if it was about Mackenzie Blackwood. I remember rumors about him being on the trade block last season. Hughes was rumored to be interested in Samsonov last season, so it wouldn't surprise if he would inquire about Blackwood.

Arizona doesn't have much beyond Vejmelka. I wonder if they're looking at Allen. If I'm not mistaken, they were one of the teams rumored to be interested in him. There are a few other teams that have young backups that have yet to establish themselves penciled into their lineups. If the Habs trade Allen, they'll need another goalie as it will leave the Habs with just Montembeault and Primeau (who isn't signed yet) as options.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Habs were rumored to be interested in Michael DiPietro as mentioned already by a few posters. There were also the tweet about the Habs talking with the Devils a while back. I was wondering if it was about Mackenzie Blackwood. I remember rumors about him being on the trade block last season. Hughes was rumored to be interested in Samsonov last season, so it wouldn't surprise if he would inquire about Blackwood.

Arizona doesn't have much beyond Vejmelka. I wonder if they're looking at Allen. If I'm not mistaken, they were one of the teams rumored to be interested in him. There are a few other teams that have young backups that have yet to establish themselves penciled into their lineups. If the Habs trade Allen, they'll need another goalie as it will leave the Habs with just Montembeault and Primeau (who isn't signed yet) as options.

Arizona wants to suck hard. I doubt they look at a competent goalie.

 

[Lshap]

A solid backup 1B goalie is harder to find than some of you seem to realize. Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa are going for it with goalies who are no better than Allen, but are more expensive. Minnesota is relying on 38-year old Fleury.

We're not winning a Cup with Allen alone, but he could be part of a winning tandem when the Habs begin trending up in a couple of years. A decent extension will solidify our backend while we see what we have with Primeau/Dobes/Dichow.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

With the high amount of young D we have coming up, it makes sense to have a competent goalie in net to help cover their mistakes.

From interviews, Allen sounds like a tremendous teammate as well and wants to be part of the rebuild, with a young team it is good to have veterans like that around.

 

[WinterLion]

I think maybe M. Weekes got the wrong goalie...

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Allen is as good a vet option going forward as we'd probably find on the market TBH. I sure don't ever want to pay a goalie 10+ millions AAV ever again. We have to have a bridge in place till Primeau or one of the other goalie prospect is ready to see a lot of action anyway.

 

[Vachon23]

 

[WeThreeKings]

Pretty cool that Allen has embraced Montreal so well and the role here. Really doesn't seem like he has the desire to be the man on a play-off team somewhere and is happy being a mentor, playing in this market and leading.

 

[Guy Larose]

As I expected and only makes sense...said as much a while back HF Habs: - Trade Proposal Thread #80

 

[26Mats]

If he's ready to sign a somewhat cheap contract then I have no problem with that.

At worst he's your starter while you groom a real number one at best he's your second goalie.

There doesn't seem to be much of a trade market for him. He's proven to be an excellent back up goalie, but not a great starter. Contending teams seem to not want to use what he commands as a cap hit on a backup. They're usually contenders because they have a lot of stars and are up against the cap. And, at the deadline when he'd be available with 50% retained - well, who's looking to give up good futures for a backup goalie who can't really hack it as a number 1 when you're about to go on a playoff run where only 1 goalie plays???

 

[Guy Larose]

There doesn't seem to be much of a trade market for him. He's proven to be an excellent back up goalie, but not a great starter. Contending teams seem to not want to use what he commands as a cap hit on a backup. They're usually contenders because they have a lot of stars and are up against the cap. And, at the deadline when he'd be available with 50% retained - well, who's looking to give up good futures for a backup goalie who can't really hack it as a number 1 when you're about to go on a playoff run where only 1 goalie plays???

There is a market for him, that's not the issue. Why would they trade him for a 3rd round pick or similar just to be out on the hunt for another goalie when Price is out? He's as good as what's out there for trade right now.

 

[lamp9post]

A solid backup 1B goalie is harder to find than some of you seem to realize. Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa are going for it with goalies who are no better than Allen, but are more expensive. Minnesota is relying on 38-year old Fleury.

We're not winning a Cup with Allen alone, but he could be part of a winning tandem when the Habs begin trending up in a couple of years. A decent extension will solidify our backend while we see what we have with Primeau/Dobes/Dichow.

Totally agree as long as the term and AAV fit with that plan. Pay Allen too much while still needing a 1A and all of a sudden we're back to having too much salary allotted to goaltending. I'd be happy with a 2 year extension with an AAV similar to what he's currently making, though I expect he'll get a modest raise.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I’d rather trade him to be honest, at the TDL that is. Right now he’s a desirable asset. Locking him up at market value could change that.

 

[Saundies]

Allen's a good guy. He's only a couple of years older than me and we went to high school together. Definitely doesn't walk around with the attitude of a typical professional athlete.

With that said, I do hope this is like a long-term solid back-up option. If Primeau is going to be the successor, it would be someone to mentor him and share the net if needed while he goes through the bumps and bruises of attempting to become a #1 goalie in the NHL.

 

[Vachon23]

Allen is perfect for the Hab, he's enough good to repair some mistakes from our young Dmen that won't hurt there confidence but he's not enough good to steel games

 

[CDN24]

If you can resign him for reasonable dollars on a reasonable term you do it. 2 or 3 years around $3M.

If you move him you need to find someone else who is a veteran (you can't go into 2023-24 with Monty and Primeau - if Primeau can't do it it gets ugly quickly. Even if you acquire a young up and coming goalie you need someone like Allen to back him up. The guys who can back up and are happy to back up/mentor are hard to find.

You won't get much for him in a trade even at the deadline. Contenders pay top price (1st rounders) for guys that they think will push them over the top. Anyone acquiring Allen is acquiring him for insurance so you get a 3rd- maybe a 2nd. Only hope is a contender who loses their top goalie to injury but even then will they gamble a 1st on a year they lost their starter? You'd need 2 such teams in a bidding war

Habs don't need excess 3rd round picks. They have 10 guys on their reserve list currently who are 3rd round picks or better. Their is a 50 contract cap, they will be leaving some of those guys unsigned anyway in coming years.

They have other assets to move at the deadline (Dandonov, Drouin, Monahan probably) This rebuild is different than most as they did not start with a empty prospect/pick cupboard.

Unless the plan is to acquire an established starter vis trade or free agency, you resign Allen as the bridge to the future.

 

[Runner77]

I was being facetious - but my main point is: if Allen returned a 2nd, is it worth losing a serviceable vet who has shown he wants to be in MTL

We don’t often see players wanting to be here. What’s also notable is who Allen is and how he behaves — he comes across as genuinely caring about his teammates.

When you hear him quoted, he sounds grounded, he always has positive, constructive remarks for fellow goalies and says the right things. Someone like Allen appears to have exceptional mentorship qualities which should be a blessing for any rookie goalie that is or becomes his teammate.

 

[A55P2]

A solid backup 1B goalie is harder to find than some of you seem to realize. Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa are going for it with goalies who are no better than Allen, but are more expensive. Minnesota is relying on 38-year old Fleury.

We're not winning a Cup with Allen alone, but he could be part of a winning tandem when the Habs begin trending up in a couple of years. A decent extension will solidify our backend while we see what we have with Primeau/Dobes/Dichow.

Yes, good take.

Allen has been very solid for some years now. A mediocre goalie can kill an entire team. If we're expecting to be competitive let's say in 2 years and Primeau doesn't develop well we'd be in trouble. This would be a very logical signing.

 

[Skip Bayless]

The way things are currently going, goalies remain valuable even when late in their careers.

There is a shortage of quality goaltending in the league. I'm not afraid of keeping Ray Allen for 2 or 3 years until we find our new goalie. I'm pretty sure he'll still be tradeable down the road.