Controversial trade proposal involving Jake Allen just surfaced

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MarcO
February 17, 2023 (4:13 PM)

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, rumors and speculation are at their peak. Everyone has an idea of who should leave the CH organization and what the future of the club holds.

Wednesday night, on the RDS show L'Antichambre, former CH goaltending coach Stéphane Waite suggested that a player be let go, and his idea raised a few eyebrows. That player is none other than goalie Jake Allen.

If I get an offer, I'm going for it! I'm definitely going. I'll trade him because first of all you can get something good and you'll still free up a good salary with Jake Allen. And then I think it's time, at 23 years old, and I'm not saying he's ready and he's going to replace Jake Allen, but it's time to give Cayden Primeau a good try before we lose him. There are a lot of goalies that at 23 years old didn't get a chance and were released or put on waivers and then at 24-25-26-27 years old it's their best years and become NHL goalies. I would hate to lose him for free, Cayden Primeau. It's time to give it a try. What do we have to lose? Losing games? That's what we want! We want to lose!" - Stephane Waite

It is true, as Waite says, that trading Allen could free up a good salary. The latter will enter a new two-season contract from next year that will take $3.85M from the CH's cap. At $2.875M this year, he is currently a great bargain and very attractive to many clubs looking for stability in front of the net. Why not take advantage of the good times he's having and the demand in the league for this kind of player?

Others would like to see the CH keep Allen for his entire next contract to be the transition goalie until the team matures. But by doing so, we risk losing Primeau for nothing next season when he will have to go through waivers to return to Laval. Losing him this way could be a huge blow to fans in a few years if he reaches the level he promised!

It will be interesting to see if the CH still has Primeau in their plans. If so, Allen has to go since Kent Hughes recently made it clear that Samuel Montembeault is not going anywhere!