3 NHL players most likely to be traded in 2024

2) Jake Allen can help many teams that need a goalie

Goaltending is a major issue for several teams vying for playoff spots, and the Montreal Canadiens just so happen to have three goaltenders on their roster. The Canadiens extending one of them, Sam Montembeault last month likely means he'll be staying put. With Montreal six points back of a playoff spot and unlikely to get much closer, trading away the oldest and most valuable one, Jake Allen, would be wise.

Allen is currently in his 11th season in the NHL and his fourth with the Canadiens. He began his Montreal tenure as Carey Price's backup, but moved into more of a regular role with Price out. This season, however, he's been mostly splitting time with Montembeault, who appeared in three more games.

Both of these goalies have played pretty well. Allen has a .903 save percentage which is pretty solid, although his 3.40 GAA through 13 games is definitely higher than he'd like. Some of that has to do with the defense in front of him, as he's saved 1.9 goals above expected which ranks above Montembeault, according to Moneypuck.

What makes Allen especially intriguing is not only the fact that he has another year of control after this one, but his contract for the 2024-25 season is quite cheap. He has a $3.9 million cap hit for this season but that goes down to $2.3 million next year. For teams that will be looking to compete with him and don't have room to pay goalies much, Allen is a very valuable asset.

Montreal has little reason to keep him, and several teams will want him. Eventually he'll go to whoever is the most desperate.