The St. Louis Blues traded goalie Jake Allen to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, shedding cap space before a critical offseason.
Montreal acquired Allen, 30, and a 2022 seventh-round pick in return for a third-round pick in 2020 (previously acquired from Washington) and a seventh-round pick in 2020 (previously acquired from Chicago).
Allen played 24 games with the Blues in 2019-20 and posted a 12-6-3 record with a 2.15 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. He has played all seven years of his NHL career in St. Louis and was the Blues’ starting goaltender before the ascendance of Jordan Binnington in the 2018-19 season. When Binnington faltered this postseason, Allen made five playoff appearances with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
For St. Louis, the move also has important salary-cap implications. Allen had one more year on his contract at $4.35 million.