Montreal Canadiens Receive Brutal News Regarding Goaltender

The Montreal Canadiens announced veteran netminder Jake Allen will be sidelined for eight weeks with a lower body injury. Allen suffered the injury on Jan.12 against the Boston Bruins.

Allen left the team's current road trip to head back to Montreal to get evaluated and the news was obviously not great. It's been an up and down season for the Canadiens goalie as he's appeared in 24 games and has posted a 3.15 GAA and a .901 save %.

#GoHabsGo have lost 13 of their last 14 games, going 1-10-3 and getting outscored 53-23. Canadiens goalies in that time:

Jake Allen - 0-7-1, 3.43 GAA & .898 SV%

Sam Montembeault - 0-2-2, 3.94 GAA & .897 SV%

Cayden Primeau - 1-1-0, 3.43 GAA & .891 SV% pic.twitter.com/u4bUNHW7pW

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 18, 2022

The Canadiens would never mention this to the media in public but they're likely disappointed with the news for numerous reasons including the trade interest they were receiving in Allen. Rumor had the Edmonton Oilers being in contact with Montreal recently about an asking price on acquiring the veteran tender.

Allen has one season left on his contract, paying him $2.87 million. Great value and not a huge commitment. He does not have any trade protection and it's likely Montreal gauges the market in the offseason once Allen has rehabbed his injury. The Canadiens are expected to be serious sellers by the Mar.21 trade deadline. Other names you can expect to see in some trade buzz - Ben Chiarot, Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Jeff Petry, and Mike Hoffman.

Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports