Marc Bergevin's most significant acquisition no one is talking about
All the spotlight is on Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, the defensive quartet and especially Carey Price, and with good reason since it is the players who made a big difference in the playoff course of the Montreal Canadiens, but one name remains forgotten is Jake Allen.
Marc Bergevin acquired Jake Allen during the offseason. This acquisition remains the most important of the season so far, even if it has not touched the ice in these 2021 series. The Habs have lived through years of misery recently with their auxiliary keepers. Keith Kinkaid, Charlie Lindgren, Antti Niemi, Al Montoya, Ben Scrivens, Mike Condon and Dustin Tokarski weren't able to provide a consistency that could secure them a long-term assistant role with Carey Price.
For the second time in three years, Jake Allen will compete in the Stanley Cup Final from the back of the bench. In 2019, he lifted the prestigious trophy thanks to the prowess of his teammate Jordan Binnington. He could repeat the feat in 2021 thanks to Carey Price.
With a save rate of 0.907 and an average of 2.68 goals against per game, Jake Allen posted an 11-12-5 record in the regular season. Even if it seems trivial, he allowed the Habs to get points that we could never have hoped for by those named above in the article.
In fact, without Jake Allen, the Habs wouldn't make the 2021 playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens have 59 points, just four more than the closest chasers, the Calgary Flames. Fortunately, Darryl Sutter's training had some setbacks at the start of the campaign and the slope was too steep at the end of the season to catch up with the Habs who were in free fall.
After all, it was Jake Allen who won the Jacques-Beauchamp Trophy, awarded to the obscure hero of the season of the Montreal Canadiens. It is therefore an understatement to what extent Carey Price's auxiliary had an important role in the qualification of the team in the playoffs. If he had had the support of his team offensively in most of the games, he would have finished with a record similar to that of his teammate.
We could see that Jake Allen's family was having fun during the last meeting, even if the principal concerned did not keep the net. His wife and two children can be seen watching Game 6 against the Las Vegas Golden Knights after a tough year for the players.
