Blues expect to stick with Elliott-Allen goalie tandem
The St. Louis Blues aren't planning to make any changes in the crease.
Brian Elliott and Jake Allen are expected to share netminding duties again next season.
"I can see us coming back with both goaltenders,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“I thought when I looked at it at the end of the season, we were very fortunate to have two goaltenders that were there to grab the ball when it hit the floor. We had those significant injuries to both guys, and both guys took the challenge and then ran with it and then didn’t let the other guy back in the net until an injury.”
Elliott finished the season as the starter following the Blues' run to the Western Conference final, but he'll once again have to compete for the job.
It will be an open competition for the No. 1 role, just as it was last fall, and according to Timmerman, Allen likely has a leg up after starting more than Elliott when both goalies were healthy.
“I like our goaltending,” Armstrong said. “I think Jake is still pushing towards being an upper-echelon goalie. He lost the net this year, Brian took it, Brian didn’t give it up. Kudos to Brian for that. I know what’s happening now (is) Jake is preparing to wrestle it back in September, and we’re going to see how it goes down. But I would have zero issue if both of these guys came back and were asked to compete and fight.”
Elliott outplayed the younger Allen in the playoffs, but the 31-year-old veteran isn't sure how the starts will be divided next season.
“You want to play, that’s what it all comes down to,” Elliott said. “That’s the predicament of pretty much every NHL team. So I don’t know what will happen.”
Allen is the Blues' goaltender of the future, but he's embraced the two-headed monster approach for the time being.
“You do (want to play every game), but you need a break,” the 25-year-old said. “There’s only a couple guys in the league that can still play 70 games and teams are very fortunate to have them, but I think teams in the West, with the travel, the grind of the schedule, two goalies is crucial. I think we’re pretty fortunate.”
Unlike the Dallas Stars, who are paying their goalie tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi a combined $10.4 million next season, the Blues' duo comes at a much more reasonable price. Elliott's hit is $2.5 million, and Allen will count for only $2.35 million against the cap.
The Blues ranked fourth in the league with a 2.40 GAA in the regular season, but that figure rose to 2.80 in the playoffs.