Optimistic Allen reflects on his whirlwind NHL campaign with Devils

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Less than four days after his NHL season ended with the New Jersey Devils, Fredericton’s Jake Allen was back with his family in Montreal, six weeks after a mid-season trade rejuvenated his season and sparked optimism for 2024-25 and beyond.

“I loved my time in Montreal, being a Montreal Canadien and I will cherish it forever to wear that Habs’ uniform,” said the 33-year-old Allen on Friday after experiencing the most unique of seasons.

“There’s a time and place that things come to an end and I knew that I needed a new opportunity, a new start and I got that with Jersey. I was super glad how the remainder of the season played out for me. I got an opportunity to play again, and play a lot in a short period of time. I felt good about my end of the season and everything was positive leaving my first stint with the Devils. I am looking forward to next year.”

Allen made a positive series of first impressions as he played in 13 of the Devils’ final 17 games of the season. In his first six games, he backed the Devils with a 4-2 record and a shiny .925 save percentage in a period that displayed in a pressure environment what he had to offer the club, which finished 38-39-5 overall and 10 points out of a playoff berth.

“It’s just one step at a time,” Allen said. “They were very pleased with how things went with me and I am looking forward to having another opportunity next year.”

In the trade, the Canadiens retained half of Allen’s $3.85 million US salary and have him on board for next season, the final year of a contract extension he inked in Montreal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July, 2025.

“I am excited,” he said. “It is a very young team, almost a similar situation to Montreal…very high end talent and it is a young group and I feel I can bring a presence to that group on and off the ice.”

That leadership role is something he is quite at ease in providing. When he entered the league with St. Louis in 2010, he saw how the veterans led the way, making sure to provide an example for Allen and his young mates.

All these years later, Allen is ready to do the same in New Jersey.

“I was that young kid once and looked up to a lot of the older kids in front of me,” he said. “As you get older, your perception changes on things, your values change and you understand what is important to you and what isn’t….You need to play well on the ice, that’s No.1, but at the same time, to help these guys along, I enjoy that part of the game. It is a good challenge for me.”

Away from his wife Shannon and three children since he was traded to the Devils, he is slowly adapting to the end of the season, which finished Monday with a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. Back in Montreal, Allen is making plans of a two and half to three month return to Fredericton as well as decompressing from a two-month whirlwind that allowed him to get his feet wet with his new club.

While a veteran of one September trade that brought him to Montreal from St. Louis in 2020, this was his first experience with the in-season dealing as he waived a no-trade clause to approve a deal between the Habs and New Jersey.

“My wife is great. She’s very adaptable,” Allen said. “She’s very understanding and as the season went on, we both had an understanding this was a possibility. When I was presented this opportunity, I had to waive my no trade clause. I accepted it and she was on board with me.

“We had a plan. My kids were pretty upset at the time – they loved the Montreal Canadiens but they got over it eventually. It was tough to be away from them for a month and a half … Hockey is the easy part of the trade but logistics and life is the more difficult part.”

The season started with Allen, Cayden Primeau and Sam Montembeault rotating in what was an awkward three-man approach in the Montreal crease. When Allen was dealt, he had made just 21 appearances this season.

“Obviously it was a different year for me and for the group, and it was tough for all three of us in the beginning in Montreal,” said Allen. “I don’t think any of us expected there to be three goalies for that long of time, but that is the situation that we were dealt.

“I have been in the league a long time and I have a good understanding of how the league works, the do’s and the don’ts on the business side of the game. I had a good feeling that the longer this went on, there was a greater chance of me probably having an opportunity elsewhere.”

When the season ended, he went through meeting with management, coaches and consults with trainers and medical staff and left looking forward to next year with a Devils squad that fell short of goals in 2023-24 but carries an optimistic framework for success down to road.

“There is a lot of good conversation,” said Allen of the end of the year process. “A lot of good comes from it and it gives you a little bit of clarity heading into the off season.”

He made his 400th NHL appearance and now after a career that has included seven years in St. Louis, including a Stanley Cup title in 2019, and four in Montreal and now New Jersey, he is 195-168-42.

As for the Stanley Cup playoffs that get going Saturday, he will be watching. He says he is a fan of the game, first, and then he has a lot of friends involved. And a third reason is to keep up on what makes teams successful in the playoffs, an education process to keep sharp.

“Every year, the NHL changes and you have to have a good understanding of how the game is won in the playoffs,” he said. “It dictates how you create success next year. I will be watching.”