Jake Allen
My fourth trade target is Jake Allen of the defending Stanley Cup Champions St. Louis Blues. A 29 year-old goaltender from New Brunswick, Allen has struggled with consistency as the Blues’ starter throughout his career, but has performed very well as the number two option behind standout Jordan Binnington.
Through 17 appearances (14 starts) this season, Allen has a .927 save percentage, a .925 5v5 SV%, and a record of 8-3-3 (47.1 W%). For context, over his 282 game NHL career, Allen has a .912 SV%, a .919 5v5 SV%, and a record of 144-91-26 (51.1 W%). Since his debut in 2012, Allen is 33rd in SV%, 30th in 5v5 SV%, and 24th in wins.
Although this doesn’t scream inconsistent or bad in anyway, Allen averaged just a .905 SV% in 105 games from 2017-2019, which is obviously not where he needs to be as a starting goaltender in the NHL.
However, in a backup role, Allen has been much better.
Jordan Binnington’s emergence as a true NHL goaltender over the last two seasons and the development of top goaltending prospects Evan Fitzpatrick and Ville Husso have made Allen and his $4.350 million cap hit expendable.
I personally think that Allen would be a worthwhile addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs if available at the right price.
In my eyes, this is more than a fair trade for both sides.
To St. Louis:
- G Michael Hutchinson (29 y/o, 3W-12GP .885SV% NHL, 1YL@700K)
- 2020 VGK 4th Round Pick
- 2021 TOR 3rd Round Pick
- 2022 TOR 3rd Round Pick
To Toronto:
- G Jake Allen (29 y/o, 8W-17GP .927 SV% NHL, 2YL@$4.35M)
In this deal, Toronto gets a much needed improvement at the backup position, that allows the pressure to be taken off of Frederick Andersen and forms a formidable tandem.
St. Louis receives a stop-gap option in Michael Hutchinson that could fill in here and there before Ville Husso likely takes the backup job come training camp. The Blues also receive a variety of mid round picks that could contribute to another draft steal.
All of these players would make great additions to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the trade deadline just about a month away, it will be very interesting to see what happens.