Jake Allen will be between the pipes for the St. Louis Blues for the foreseeable future.
Allen, who had one year remaining on his contract, signed a four-year extension with the Blues worth $17.4 million on Friday. The deal will keep him in St. Louis through the 2020-21 season.
“I’m so excited to be a Blue for the next five years. This is where I want to be,” Allen said. “This is the place that drafted me and made me the goalie I am today. I want to be a Blue forever and I’m looking forward to being able to stay here for the next five years.
“With the contract out of the way, now I can focus on hockey and worry about winning a championship.”
Over the last two seasons, Allen has started 84 regular season games for the Blues, sharing the goaltending duties with Brian Elliott. But at the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong dealt Elliott to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a second-round draft pick (Jordan Kyrou) and a conditional third-round pick in 2018.
“When we made the Elliott trade, we were turning the keys over to Jake,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been able to do that now and he’s excited to have that opportunity. We think we’re getting him entering his prime right now and we’re going to have him for the next five years. I think that’s exciting for the team and exciting for Jake.
“Talking to (Assistant General Manager) Martin Brodeur and talking to (Goalie Coach) Jim Corsi, they felt Jake was the future, so we acted accordingly.”
Over the course of three seasons, Allen has played in 99 career regular season games, posting a 47-26-15 record to go with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .920 save-percentage and 11 shutouts.
The 25-year-old goaltender posted a career-high 26 wins last season in 47 games played.
“This is great that the organization has confidence in me to do the job,” Allen said of signing the new four-year extension. “I have a lot of confidence in myself as well. This is something I’ve been working for throughout my whole career. You want to be the No. 1 guy everywhere you go. That’s when I play my best.
“I’m really looking forward to September. It’s a great opportunity that I’ve worked hard for. I couldn’t ask for a better situation for myself.”
“We think he’s very good,” Armstrong added. “We’re going to build our goaltending around Jake and we’re excited about that.”
In addition to signing Allen, the Blues also announced the signing of free agent goalie Carter Hutton, who just finished up a two-year contract with the Nashville Predators. Hutton has played in 76 NHL games, posting a 33-24-12 record with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .910 save-percentage and 12 shutouts.
