Blues trade Jake Allen to Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens acquired netminder Jake Allen and a seventh-round pick in 2022 in exchange for a third-round selection and a seventh-rounder in 2020, the team announced Wednesday.

Allen, 30, has one year remaining on his current deal, which carries a $4.35-million cap hit, and will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2020-21 campaign.

The move frees up more cap room for the Blues this offseason with captain Alex Pietrangelo set to become an unrestricted free agent and Vince Dunn heading toward restricted free agency. St. Louis now has $6.39 million in projected space next season, according to CapFriendly.

Allen enjoyed a bounce-back campaign in 2019-20, posting a career-best 2.15 goals-against average and .927 save percentage over 24 appearances.

With Allen in the fold, 33-year-old Carey Price should be afforded more rest next season after making a league-leading 58 starts in 2019-20.