Blackhawks: What The Jake Allen Trade Means For Corey Crawford

The St. Louis Blues traded goalie Jake Allen to the Montreal Canadiens. Here’s what this means for Chicago Blackhawks’ goalie Corey Crawford.

With the Blues trading goalie Jake Allen to the Canadiens, the chance of Corey Crawford leaving the Chicago Blackhawks to back up Carey Price in Montreal is now gone. There were rumors of Crawford going to his hometown team to back up Price if things in Chicago didn’t work out.

Now, Crawford’s backup plan is gone. If he’ll take a discount to stay in Chicago, chances are, he will be back for the 2020-21 NHL season. That’s something a lot of fans would like to see. He got better as the year got on, so if he can ride that momentum into next season, things might be alright in Chicago.

This trade is huge for the Canadiens. Many people are saying it’s too much money they’re spending on two goalies, but they now have two solid goalies. Chances are, one of those two guys will end up in Seattle after the season anyway. It’s a one-year thing for Montreal. Let’s see what our 12-seed companions can do in goal next year.

For the Hawks, keeping Crawford is almost certain, but they still need to grab a goalie that can split time with him. Jacob Markstrom is most likely on his way out of Vancouver, as Thatcher Demko has taken over for him. Markstrom would be a great fit in Chicago, with him also being a quick fit for the goaltending situation.

The only thing that is needed now is Crawford and the Hawks to sign the dotted line. His contract has to be half of what he made last year, so I’d say $3,000,000 AAV for 2-years is fair. The team cannot waste too much money, as things are tight right now. They need to find their goalie for the future too, as even Markstrom is in his 30s.

Where will they find that goalie? Maybe it’s Collin Delia or Kevin Lankenin, maybe they’ll have to trade for a prospect or draft one in the coming year or two. I just hope they can figure that part out soon.