The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Jake Allen to a two-year contract extension.
Canadiens sign goaltender Jake Allen to a two-year contract extension.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/KwQmhlgPVT
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 14, 2020
The deal is for two years and has an average annual value of $2.875 million. Allen was acquired from the St. Louis Blues earlier this offseason, and his $4.35 million contract expires at the end of this season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent.
The contract means that Allen can be left exposed in the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken at the end of the 2020-21 season. Unrestricted free agent goaltenders are not eligible to be the only goaltender left unprotected. Previously, only McNiven was eligible to be left exposed in the draft, if the Canadiens qualified him as a restricted free agent.
This solidifies the Canadiens backup goaltender position at a lower cost, and provides insurance in case Cayden Primeau is not ready for a full-time NHL job by the 2021-22 season.
The Canadiens still have $22 million left under the Salary Cap for 2021-22 if the cap remains flat for a third straight season.
