Jake Allen would be a good fit for the Colorado Avalanche

Montreal Canadiens netminder Jake Allen ranks No. 14 on Frank Seravalli’s most recent trade targets board. Seravalli and former NHL netminder Carter Hutton weigh in on how the Colorado Avalanche is a good fit for the veteran goalie.

Frank Seravalli: So I want to ask you about Jake Allen, you just mentioned Justus Annunen and I thought for a while that Colorado might be the best landing spot for Allen. In terms of “Hey the Habs are willing to retain so that can knock him down to $1.9 million bucks, that’s perfect.” He’s a backup, one-B range type goalie, he has term and brings you some stability. We saw with Pavel Francouz a couple of years ago just how much they ended up needing their second guy on their Stanley Cup run because he started and won I think four or five games for the Avs. But, when you look at Allen is he enough of an upgrade over someone like Annunen? 

Carter Hutton: I think he is off the ice as well. Something that comes into accountability and being a teammate of Jake Allen’s for a few years in St. Louis and knowing him as a person, he’s a veteran guy, he’s won a Stanley Cup and he’s been the backup in those times. When he was with Binnington, there were stories of him trying to practice and emulate goalies they were playing against and he’s just a guy who is low maintenance and won’t undermine the situation. Not that Annunen isn’t a good teammate, but there’s something that comes into play when you have a guy who has a bit more stability.

Carter Hutton: I don’t think Georgiev would feel pressure in the sense of trying to push him, but I think Allen is a great fit because of his locker room presence. He’s a low-maintenance goalie, you don’t hear him talk he comes in does his work and gets on the ice. If something were to end up happening then he could step up to the plate and play some valuable minutes with the Avalanche.