No general manager in the NHL has been more active this summer than Doug
Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues. Though his team missed the playoffs by just
one point in 2017-18, Armstrong took strides to overhaul his roster through
trade and free agency. Now, the Blues have a brand new look, but one question
remains: will inconsistent goaltender Jake Allen be able to find his stride and
 support the new team in front of him, or will he be the glitch in the system
that derails Armstrong';s renovated roster?The Goalie of the Future

Jake Allen has been the Blues'; long-term solution in net for many years. The
team selected Allen with the 34th pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, making him
the third goalie off the board in that season (the two drafted before him, Chet
 Pickard and Tom McCollum, never made a significant NHL impact). Jake was
tabbed early as "the goalie of the future," someone who might finally be able
to solve their longstanding need at the position. In the ten years before
Allen';s selection in the draft, the Blues had seen six different goalies start
 a majority of the games in one season.Jake Allen with the AHL Peoria Rivermen
(Ross Bonander/THW)

Allen excelled in his junior career, playing for both St. John';s/Montreal and
Drummondville. In his final junior season, Allen went 29-14 in 45 games (and an
 impressive 18-3 after being traded to Drummondville) and posted a .922 SV%,
achievements which earned him the Jacques Plante Trophy, awarded to the goalie
of the year in the QMJHL.

Allen continued to impress in his next career stage, the AHL. All told, he
spent parts of four seasons in the AHL, never posting a SV% below .904 nor a
Goals Against Average (GAA) above 2.93. The pinnacle of Allen';s AHL career
would earn him yet another award. In 2013-14, Allen went 33-16 in 52 games,
posting a 2.03 GAA and a .928 SV%, a performance that won him the Aledge "Baz"
Bastien Memorial Award, given each year to the AHL';s best goaltender. The
2013-14 season would mean more to Allen than just a trophy, though. It would
also be the performance that earned him a permanent spot with the NHL
club.Allen';s NHL Introduction

Despite having played a few stints in the NHL in injury relief, Allen made his
full-time debut in the 2014-15 season. He played in 37 games, amassing a 22-7
record, along with a .913 SV% and a 2.28 GAA. Allen also collected 4 shutouts
in his rookie season, and finished tenth in the Calder Trophy voting for rookie
 of the year.Brian Elliott (TSN Photography)

The Blues went with a goaltending tandem of Allen and Brian Elliott in both
2014-15 and 2015-16, with great effect. Allen was able to learn the speed of
the game at the NHL level without having the immense pressure of being a
full-time starting goalie. Allen played more games than his counterpart in the
2015-16 season, with a .920 SV% and a 2.35 GAA, and after the season, the Blues
 determined that he was prepared to be their starting net minder going forward.
 At the 2016 draft, the team traded Brian Elliott to the Calgary Flames in
exchange for a second round pick. A week later, the team would redouble its
commitment to Allen, giving him a four year, $17.4 million contract extension
while bringing in Carter Hutton as his backup.Allen';s NHL Inconsistency

Problems arose for Allen in his first season without Elliott. Despite a decent
start to the season, Allen ran into trouble in the winter. During a stretch in
January, he was pulled from four starts in six games, including allowing four
goals on ten shots against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 19. The Blues opted
to ask Allen to stay home during a road trip at the end of January. Allen';s
downturn in play unsurprisingly coincided with the worst stretch of the team';s
 season, and on Feb. 1, the Blues made the decision to part ways with head
coach Ken Hitchcock.

When the Blues moved on from Hitchcock and promoted Mike Yeo, they also moved
Martin Brodeur down from the front office to be a goalie coach. Whether this
was the catalyst or not, Allen immediately returned to form. In Yeo';s first
game, Allen saved 26 of 27 shots. The next week, he took home second player of
the week honors from the NHL for a week in which he went 3-0-0 with a .967 SV%
and one shutout. He performed incredibly well for the rest of the season, and
stole a postseason series against the Minnesota Wild, stopping 114 of 117 shots
 in the first three games alone. Blues fans finished the 2016-17 series with a
high degree of confidence, despite his mid-season struggles.Jake Allen faces
the  Rangers (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

But concerns arose again when Allen entered an eerily familiar slump in the
middle of the 2017-18 season. Once again, Allen played stellar hockey in the
early months of the year. He went 7-2-1 with a 2.46 GAA and a .921 SV% in the
month of October, and while the team';s performance slipped, Allen continued to
 play well in goal during November and December. Once again, though, his
performance cratered in the month of January. Allen was only asked to start two
 games that month, and he lost them both, with a GAA of 4.93  and a ghastly
SV% of .871. This time, his play did not rebound in February, and Carter Hutton
 was entrusted with more and more of the work as the Blues fought for their
playoff lives. Hutton ultimately sustained an injury, forcing Allen back into
the net. From March on, he played well enough, but the damage had been done and
 the Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in six years.Where Allen
Stands

After two inconsistent seasons, Allen stands at something of a career
crossroads. He still has three years remaining on a lucrative contract, but
that deal will look like an albatross for the team if he struggles again this
year. Moreover, Armstrong took bold action in free agency, letting Carter
Hutton walk and bringing in Chad Johnson as the team';s backup. Whether Johnson
 holds onto the job, or whether promising Blues'; goalie prospect Ville Husso
steals it from him, neither is poised to take over the job if Allen falls off
the map again in January. The team needs him to succeed.

And Allen needs to prove himself. He will be 28 when the puck drops on opening
night, and while that is not "old" by any definition, particularly for a
goaltender, it is well beyond the time one should still be getting his feet
under him. Put bluntly: if Jake Allen severely struggles again this year, he
will be permanently labeled "damaged goods." The Blues will likely be stuck
with him for the duration of his contract, and Allen will never be looked at as
 a reliable, frontline starter.Blues'; New Backup Chad Johnson (Amy Irvin / The
 Hockey Writers)

The Blues need Allen to succeed and prove himself to be the kind of goalie he
has been billed to be; the kind who has won goalie of the year trophies at
multiple levels of competition. With a heavily renovated team, Allen remains
the big question mark for the 2018-19 Blues. If he performs well throughout the
 season, he will turn the Blues from a good team into a legitimate contender,
but if he struggles once again, he will dramatically lower the team';s ceiling,
 and put them in a tight pinch for the future. With all Husso';s promise, he is
 still years from being a regular NHL starter, if he reaches that level at all,
 and the team needs Allen to shoulder the load until then.The Blues'; Bright
Side

With all of that said, there are reasons for hope with Jake Allen. All the
tools are there, as is the athleticism. No one has ever questioned Jake
Allen';s physical ability. And moments like the postseason series against the
Wild show that, at his very best, there are few better than him in the NHL.
With a hugely altered roster, including many new faces who will assist on the
penalty kill, the Blues are in a much better position to support Allen than
they were last year, which is why some have labeled him a top candidate to
rebound in net this year. Now, the Blues just need Allen to justify the faith
they';ve put in him, and show what a truly great goaltender he can be.

The post St. Louis Blues Still Have Questions in Net appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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