The St. Louis Blues arguably have the best goalie situation in the league right now. They have Jordan Binnington who has made history already and is poised to repeat that history. That isn’t enough to make the goalie situation the best in the league though. To have that would mean you would have to have an elite backup as well.
The St. Louis Blues have a backup in Jake Allen. Snake has shown flashes throughout his career that he has elite athleticism and skill. What he hasn’t shown until recently is an elite mental state. Jordan Binnington has that. Just look at his record after losing a game. That’s a pretty good indicator of his mental fortitude.
It’s something that has eluded Allen in recent years, but Snake is playing some elite hockey right now. He has one year left on his contract and it’s a pretty good number in terms of AAV for a starting goalie at $4.35 million. $5.2 million is being collected by him this season in cash. Binnington is signed for the next season as well at $4.4 million AAV.
After a terrible start to the season in his first three games where he still managed to get 2 wins Allen has been great! Over the course of the next 9 games where one of which was in relief of Binnington Allen sports a .948 SV%! WOW!
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Allen overall is 7-2-2 through 11 starts. Great win ratio. He carries a 2.19 GAA and .931 SV% overall this season. Good for third-best in both categories.
Binnington in comparison has a 2.38 GAA and .921 SV% with a record of 17-6-4. Great win ratio as well! Good for 10 and 12th overall in those categories.
Many Blues fans believe Allen is way overpaid for a backup netminder. That can be argued either way depending on your perspective of the argument.
Overall between the two netminders, the Blues have $8.75 million in cap space being occupied by both these goalies. By comparison, Tuukka Rask occupies $7 million of salary-cap space alone for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins tandem is arguably the best goalie tandem in the league. Rask is backed up by Jaroslav Halak, a former Blue himself.
I said arguably. This isn’t the point of the article so let’s get past that debate, please.
Halak has a cap hit of $2.75 million this season and next. So Boston has $1 million more allocated to the goaltending position than the Blues do currently. Going to CapFriendly.com you can see that goalie salaries are all a crossed the board.
It should be fair to say that the majority of the teams in a playoff position currently have $5-$9 million of their total cap-space being allocated to the goalie position. So is Allen overpaid? It’s arguable.
What can’t be argued is his performance this season. He is #3 in GAA and SV%. Who doesn’t want that in net in the NHL? Allen’s trade value is at an all-time high right now and Doug Armstrong could be considering moving him in a deal.
He wouldn’t be doing his job if he wasn’t. I don’t think the Blues should trade Jake Allen as having that one-two punch almost guarantees a playoff spot in the NHL. You have to have great goaltending to get into the playoffs and make a run when you get there.
Allen gives us that right now and it rests Binnington for the arduous grind that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Is that worth $4.35 million AAV and $5.2 million cash right now? Arguably.
We all know Allen has had some issues with consistency and very well could come crashing down again so there is a “buyer beware” attached to Allen and whatever the Blues or any other team interested in Allen decide to do.
Allen could bring in a good return currently and the majority of NHL teams are looking for good goaltending. It’s akin to the quarterback position in the NFL. It’s that crucial. Without you don’t win.
I’ll say again that I am not saying Allen is worth the $5.2 million in cash he is making this season or the $4.35 million against the cap he currently occupies, but if he continues to perform as he has thus far the nit certainly doesn’t hurt to the Blues to have him and it puts them in a better position overall to move him if need be and make cap room as well as restock the cupboard with a prospect.
I know Armstrong is doing his due diligence in exploring the market. Allen’s play has made the Blues all the better not just on the ice but at the trade table as well.
Drop the puck!