New Jersey Devils extend Jake Allen

In a surprising turn of events, the veteran goaltender has signed a five-year extension to stick around.

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The New Jersey Devils have come to terms with Jake Allen on a contract extension, getting a deal done before he officially became the top option on the open market.

It is a five-year agreement worth an annual average of $1.8 million per season.

Let’s dig into it.

Allen extension comes as a surprise

Jake Allen has very much enjoyed his tenure with the Devils and, in a perfect world, they wanted to keep him around. From that respect, it was always a possibility the two sides figured out a way to extend their marriage.

It felt far fetched, though, for three key reasons:

1. A lot of teams are looking to upgrade in goal

2. There aren’t many – any? – other quality options in free agency

3. The Devils are short on cap space

Put simply, the supply doesn’t meet the demand this year.

The San Jose Sharks want a veteran to pair with Yaroslav Askarov and have money to blow. The Utah Mammoth want a partner for Karel Vejmelka and have money to blow. The Edmonton Oilers don’t have much money to spend but they’re looking to upgrade. The Los Angeles Kings want a reliable partner for Darcy Kuemper. The Philadelphia Flyers would like someone who can stabilize the position and help them be more competitive on a nightly basis. On and on it goes.

Given how many teams are looking to upgrade, and that the Devils aren’t flush with spending money, Allen leaving for greener pastures – literally – felt almost inevitable. The Devils found a way to work around cap issues by giving out more term.

Why keep Allen?

How much time do I have? Even if you’d prefer going the Nico Daws route and spending next to nothing on a backup, there are plenty of benefits to bringing Allen back into the fold.

For one, he performed like one of the best goaltenders in the league last season. No, not one of the best backups. No, not one of the best platoon options. One of the best goaltenders, period.

He ranked 3rd in the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected per start, according to MoneyPuck. AdvancedHockeyStats slotted him 6th in that regard as well as 7th in delta save percentage (the difference in SV% vs. xSV%)

Whatever database or metric you prefer to evaluate performance, Allen probably ranked near the top of the list. He was great.

Allen is as low-maintenance as they come and the perfect goaltender to pair with Jacob Markstrom.

If the latter is in a groove, and/or it’s a slow part of the schedule, there won’t be a peep from Allen about not getting enough playing time.

Conversely, he’s more than capable of taking the ball and running with it if necessary. He served as the team’s starter for ~five weeks last season when Markstrom was sidelined with an injury.

He posted a .917 save percentage and saved ~10 goals above expected over that 10-game spell, giving the Devils a chance nightly despite a lack of run support.

He also performed so well down the stretch – while Markstrom struggled to regain his form – that some opined Allen, not Markstrom, should have started Game 1 against Carolina.

Regardless of your view on the matter, that it was even a thought is a feather in the cap for Allen.

Be it due to injuries, underperformance, or goalies retiring(!), the Devils dealt with a ton of instability between the pipes for a long time. It cost them so many games, if not seasons.

It’s not surprising that when they finally found a combination that works, they did everything they could to keep it intact.

What comes next?