Pending free agent Jake Allen could be the top goalie available in this year’s free agent class, and he’s certainly approaching it as such. According to Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, Allen is believed to be seeking a multi-year deal in the “$5MM AAV range.”
As Di Marco notes, Allen and the New Jersey Devils continue to discuss a potential extension ahead of free agency. However, it appears Allen is seeking at least a two-year deal and a large raise on his previous $3.85MM AAV deal. With the clock ticking and Allen set to be the top available goalie, the Devils will need to act quickly if they hope to retain him.
Allen, 34, is coming off a solid showing during the 2024-25 season. Despite his 13-16-1 record, Allen produced a .906 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. His save percentage actually exceeded that of starter Jacob Markström, who posted a .900 mark, and the two goalies finished tied with four shutouts each, despite Markström starting 20 more games.
The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun also recently made note of Allen’s strong position given the limited availability at the position in free agency. While Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has expressed interest in re-signing last year’s backup, Allen is already drawing interest from other teams, with the Flyers, Oilers, and Sharks having been linked to the netminder.
While Allen was previously projected to land a two-year deal worth $3.5MM per season on the open market, according to AFP Analytics, both the term and annual value could exceed those expectations as teams scramble to secure his services. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where Allen ends up next season. With the Devils holding just over $14MM in cap space (per PuckPedia), they may not be inclined to sign Allen for an AAV much higher than his last deal.
If the Devils are unable to come to an agreement with Allen, they could look to pair Markström with Nico Daws next season. While the 24-year-old Daws only appeared in six contests last season with the Devils, he impressed with a .939 save percentage.
No chance NJD bring him back on that ticket. They need his $ to build a bottom 6. They will run with Daws or sign someone in the 1-2mil range
No 💩 Sherlock
Read the article dweeb. Didn’t your mother tell you to say nothing if all you’ve got are comments that embarass your bloodline?
Your original comment and reply are proof that your mom should have swallowed
Considering guys like Jarry, Grubauer, and John Gibson make more than $5 million then it doesn’t seem ridiculous.
I mean, none of them SHLOULD be getting that much though.
They were all also coming off good seasons when they signed those contracts. Like most athletes when they sign for too much and then aren’t very good after. Allen hasn’t been a starter in 5-6 years and hasn’t been good since then either
Buyout in waiting
Embarrassing if anyone pays him that
It would help if you didn’t embarrass quite so easily.
Oilers have to take a kitchen sink approach.
See if Allen will take $8 million over two years. Keep Skinner. Move Pickard. Sign one of Samsonov or Georgiev or someone of that ilk who can be had for $1.2 million or less. Maybe two just in case their guy is lost on waivers.
Have at least 3 guys and hope 1 steps up.
Samsonov and Georgiev should be headed to the KHL not another NHL team.
Hasek and Brodeur are unavailable for the Oilers’ third string role.
I was counting all of the current bad GMs in the NHL recently, And based on the number, I have no doubt that Jake Allen will get 5 million annually in the near future.
Are you counting yourself?
Daws looks ready to take on the backup role, he’s probably better than Markstrom even.
I saw him play a few years during his time in Montreal, definitely not worth 5M$ a year
Way too much for a second level goalie who is 35.
This has Oilers written all over it and I can’t wait for it to happen :)