Latest news with #JakeAllen
CBC
a day ago
- Sport
- CBC
Goalie market dries up as NHL teams scramble to secure netminders
It is not a good time to be an NHL team in need of a goaltender. Fewer than a dozen who played in the league last season were available as unrestricted free agents, Detroit acquired John Gibson from Anaheim over the weekend after years of trade rumors and that left a handful of veteran backups to sign Tuesday. New Jersey kept Jake Allen, Thatcher Demko stayed in Vancouver, Philadelphia added Dan Vladar and the New York Islanders signed David Rittich. "Really, you sort of take a look at the landscape and see what's out there," said Allen, who re-signed with the Devils for $9 million US over five years. "Yeah, there were some spots, but at the same time, my situation in Jersey was good." Two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton might have lost out in the game of musical goalies and could have little choice but to stick with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. They combined for a save percentage of .888 in the playoffs, ranking 13th out of 16 teams, dropping to .866 in the Stanley Cup Final loss to Florida. Allen was not really an option for the Oilers because he wanted to stay on the East Coast regardless. The Canucks have a rare surplus at the most important position in hockey after extending Demko for $8.5 million a year through 2029. They also have Kevin Lankinen under contract at $4.5 million annually through 2030, and Arturs Silovs backstopped Abbotsford of the American Hockey League to the Calder Cup after playing well in the playoffs for Vancouver last year. Demko is a franchise No. 1, so he's not going anywhere. "Probably we have the best goalie tandem in the league," said winger Conor Garland, who also signed a long-term extension with the Canucks. "For Demmer just coming back being healthy and the presence he is in the room, what a competitor he is. He has kind of an aura about him of just being one of the top goalies in the league and how hard he practices and what that does for our room on a day-to-day basis having a guy like that, it's a huge impact." Vladar, who turns 28 in August, signed for $6.7 million over the next two years to join the Flyers' mix. He figures to split time with Samuel Ersson. Rittich joins the Islanders as depth behind unquestioned starter Ilya Sorokin. Semyon Varlamov is under contract for two more seasons but has been injured. Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina signed 25-year-old Amir Miftakhov after he put up some strong numbers in the KHL. With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already in place, Miftakhov is a potential low-risk, high-reward addition at the league minimum of $775,000 and the chance for him to play with AHL Chicago if needed. "Amir has put together a number of solid seasons in the KHL and is ready to return to professional hockey in North America," general manager Eric Tulsky said. "It's important to have goaltending depth, and we look forward to having him in our organization." While Miftakhov only has AHL and ECHL experience, Gibson was the most proven netminder available, especially with the Ducks going to his successor, Lukas Dostal. He's not sure why the goalie market became so thin, but he's happy to be going to the Red Wings to perhaps revitalize his career at 31. "It's a new chapter, fresh start, kind of going in excited to prove myself," Gibson said. "It's just an exciting opportunity to go to a team and an organization that really wants to get back and to playoff hockey."
Forbes
a day ago
- Sport
- Forbes
2025 NHL Free Agency Period Short On Star Power After Early Fireworks
While Brock Boeser (l) elected to remain with the Vancouver Canucks in free agency, Vladislav ... More Gavrikov (r) moved from the Los Angeles Kings to the New York Rangers. (Photo by) A spiking salary cap turned Tuesday's opening of the 2025 NHL Free Agency period from a frenzy into a yawn. After the Florida Panthers succeeded in retaining Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand following their second-straight Stanley Cup run and Mitch Marner agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that makes him a member of the Vegas Golden Knights for the next eight years, the top names on Tuesday's free-agent board included scoring wingers Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser and shutdown defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. Even the top free-agent goalie, Jake Allen, took himself out of the market on Tuesday. The 34-year old elected to re-sign with the New Jersey Devils on a five-year deal with an average annual value of $1.8 million, per PuckPedia. Then, so did Boeser. Thought it was widely assumed that he'd be moving on from the Vancouver Canucks, the 28-year-old became the first big name off the board at about 12:30 p.m. ET, when he agreed to a seven-year deal worth an AAV of $7.25 million to stay in Vancouver. That's a small raise from his previous contract, a three-year deal at $6.65 million. That contract, and Marner's new 8x12 deal with the Golden Knights, easily eclipsed Day 1's biggest mover, Gavrikov. The 29-year-old signed a seven-year deal with the New York Rangers with an AAV of $7 million. That number also falls short of some of the other contracts that have been handed out to top defensemen over the last few days. Fellow Russian Ivan Provorov, 28, also a pending UFA inked a seven-year deal with a cap hit of $8.5 million to remain with the Columbus Blue Jackets. But while the Rangers offer a desirable market and are already tight to the salary cap, the Blue Jackets have traditionally had some trouble re-signing players. With oodles of available cap space, they could afford to pay a premium to keep a top-pairing defenseman in the fold. By the end of the first hour, just eight free-agent deals worth $89.55 million had been signed, according to TSN. That was a massive drop-off from the 27 contracts worth $470 million and 64 signings of all types worth over $740 million in 2024, and the smallest total since nine deals worth $19 million were signed in the midst of the pandemic-induced flat cap when free agency opened in October of 2020. Ehlers, 29, is taking his time deciding on his landing spot. Market forces may work in his favor, as he's in a class of his own among the remaining free agents as a scoring winger. Rising Cap Changes The Landscape This year, the NHL salary cap took its biggest jump in history, from $88 million in 2024-25 to $95.5 million in 2025-26. More large increases are already locked in for the next two seasons. That gave previously some previously cap-strapped teams more room to move early, re-signing players and making key trades. Major potential UFAs like Mikko Rantanen and Leon Draisaitl came off the board months ago. Leading up to July 1, we saw some big deals for younger defensemen including Evan Bouchard, 25, who got four years at $10.5 million as an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent with the Edmonton Oilers. In a similar situation, Noah Dobson was traded from the New York Islanders to the Montreal Canadiens on draft day last Friday, then inked a new eight-year deal at $9.5 million. As Day 1 wore on, some depth defensemen were able to snag strong AAVs and significant term by joining new teams. After losing Gavrikov, new Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland gave 31-year-old blueliner Cody Ceci four years at $4.5 million and 33-year-old defender Brian Dumoulin three years at $4 million, while 33-year-old Nate Schmidt picked up three years at $3.5 million from the Utah Mammoth after raising his stock during the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup run. Trades Following the Marner and Dobson trades, two noteworthy deals went down on Tuesday. The Oilers cleared cap space by moving the last year of Victor Arvidsson's $4 million cap hit to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2027, while the Montreal Canadiens traded defense prospect Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Quebec-born scoring winger Zach Bolduc. No Extension News Yet For Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel With one year remaining on their deals, the biggest names who became eligible for contract extensions on July 1 were Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Minnesota Wild dynamo Kirill Kaprizov and Vegas pivot Jack Eichel. All franchise cornerstones, it would be a shock if any of the three weren't locked up before the beginning of next season, but those extensions may take some time to be finalized. In addition to bringing back Boeser, the Canucks kicked off their day on Tuesday by announcing extensions for two of their franchise cornerstones. Thatcher Demko, the 2024 Vezina Trophy runner-up, inked a deal for three additional years at $8.5 million while Conor Garland extended for six additional years at $6 million. The Washington Capitals also extended defenseman Martin Fehervary, 25, on a seven-year deal at $6 million. In Carolina, 22-year-old Logan Stankoven re-upped with the Hurricanes on an eight-year-deal with a cap hit of $6 million following his March trade from the Dallas Stars. More deals will be agreed upon as the 2025 NHL free agency period continues through the summer.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Goalie market dries up as NHL teams scramble to secure netminders
It is not a good time to be an NHL team in need of a goaltender. Fewer than a dozen who played in the league last season were available as unrestricted free agents, Detroit acquired John Gibson from Anaheim over the weekend after years of trade rumors and that left a handful of veteran backups to sign Tuesday. New Jersey kept Jake Allen, Thatcher Demko stayed in Vancouver, Philadelphia added Dan Vladar and the New York Islanders signed David Rittich. 'Really, you sort of take a look at the landscape and see what's out there,' said Allen, who re-signed with the Devils for $9 million over five years. 'Yeah, there were some spots, but at the same time, my situation in Jersey was good.' Two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton might have lost out in the game of musical goalies and could have little choice but to stick with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. They combined for a save percentage of .888 in the playoffs, ranking 13th out of 16 teams, dropping to .866 in the Stanley Cup Final loss to Florida. Allen was not really an option for the Oilers because he wanted to stay on the East Coast regardless. The Canucks have a rare surplus at the most important position in hockey after extending Demko for $8.5 million a year through 2029. They also have Kevin Lankinen under contract at $4.5 million annually through 2030, and Arturs Silovs backstopped Abbotsford of the American Hockey League to the Calder Cup after playing well in the playoffs for Vancouver last year. Demko is a franchise No. 1, so he's not going anywhere. 'Probably we have the best goalie tandem in the league,' said winger Conor Garland, who also signed a long-term extension with the Canucks. 'For Demmer just coming back being healthy and the presence he is in the room, what a competitor he is. He has kind of an aura about him of just being one of the top goalies in the league and how hard he practices and what that does for our room on a day-to-day basis having a guy like that, it's a huge impact.' Vladar, who turns 28 in August, signed for $6.7 million over the next two years to join the Flyers' mix. He figures to split time with Samuel Ersson. Rittich joins the Islanders as depth behind unquestioned starter Ilya Sorokin. Semyon Varlamov is under contract for two more seasons but has been injured. Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina signed 25-year-old Amir Miftakhov after he put up some strong numbers in the KHL. With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already in place, Miftakhov is a potential low-risk, high-reward addition at the league minimum of $775,000 and the chance for him to play with AHL Chicago if needed. 'Amir has put together a number of solid seasons in the KHL and is ready to return to professional hockey in North America,' general manager Eric Tulsky said. 'It's important to have goaltending depth, and we look forward to having him in our organization.' While Miftakhov only has AHL and ECHL experience, Gibson was the most proven netminder available, especially with the Ducks going to his successor, Lukas Dostal. He's not sure why the goalie market became so thin, but he's happy to be going to the Red Wings to perhaps revitalize his career at 31. 'It's a new chapter, fresh start, kind of going in excited to prove myself,' Gibson said. 'It's just an exciting opportunity to go to a team and an organization that really wants to get back and to playoff hockey.' ___ AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed. ___ AP NHL:
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NHL contract grades: Jake Allen is a solid ‘1B' for Devils at a reasonable price
Jake Allen has agreed to a five-year contract with a $1.8 million average annual value with the New Jersey Devils. It's been said for months that Allen would be the best goaltender to hit the market on July 1. That turned out to not be the case — Allen never made it to unrestricted free agency, agreeing to terms with New Jersey in the last hour of his previous contract. Allen, 34, deserved to be atop all those free-agent lists. He put up a .906 save percentage for the Devils in 31 appearances last year, which is directly in line with his career numbers. Allen's save percentage has been .905 or better in 10 of his 12 seasons. Advertisement Where he really popped in his first full season with the Devils, though, was in goals saved above expected. Allen's 19.04 were 14th in the league, a tick behind Jake Oettinger and a tick ahead of Mackenzie Blackwood. Is Allen a true-blue starter? At this point in his career, probably not. He's certainly a high-end backup, though, and miles ahead of the other options on the market. That's why seeing him stick with the Devils, where he'll once again back up Jacob Markstrom, is a bit of a surprise — even without many open starter's nets across the league. The term, in all likelihood, was the deciding factor here; five years is a long time for a goaltender in his mid-30s. Other teams might've been willing to pay Allen more in terms of AAV, but there's something to be said for certainty. Allen got that — and the Devils locked in a solid 1B at a highly reasonable price. That carries some extra value for New Jersey, given how much of an issue goaltending had been before they turned things over to Markstrom and Allen. Now, they've got two competent options for the coming season and a nice insurance policy if Markstrom (a UFA after 2025-26) has another up-and-down season. Contract grade: B+
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Devils re-sign Jake Allen to 5-year deal, taking top option off weak goalie market
The Athletic has live coverage of NHL free agency. The New Jersey Devils are re-signing free agent goaltender Jake Allen to a five-year contract with a $1.8 million cap hit on Tuesday, league sources confirmed to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. Allen was arguably the best goalie in a weak free agent class for the position this summer. The 34-year-old veteran is a well-known commodity as he approaches 500 games in the NHL. He's coming off an excellent season as the Devils' backup behind Jacob Markstrom, posting a .906 save percentage and saving 19.07 goals above expected, which ranked 15th among all goalies, despite starting only 29 games. Advertisement After spending the first half of his career as a workhorse starter for the Blues, Allen has transitioned into being one of the league's most reliable backups. He showed flashes this season that he can handle a bit more workload, though. When Markstrom missed more than a month from January to early March with an injury, Allen excelled as the Devils No. 1, posting a .919 save percentage and the third-most GSAx in the league during that span. Allen is as steady as they come. His play style and temperament are calming forces behind any team on a nightly basis, and he has proven he still has good goaltending left in the tank as he approaches 35 this August. Kevin Weekes was first to report that Allen was signing the extension.
