Confrontation of the 4 nations | Samuel Montembeault deserves his place, believes Jake Allen

(Newark, New Jersey) Samuel Montembeault is not off to a rocky start with an efficiency of .897. The fact remains that, among Canadian goaltenders in the NHL, he ranks 8^e rang.

Among those ahead of him, we find Eric Comrie (.914), a career assistant, who will therefore not be in the discussions for Team Canada for the 4 Nations Showdown. We also find Marc-André Fleury (.899), whose imminent retirement essentially excludes him from the process.

This is without forgetting Jake Allen (.904), but he himself immediately excludes himself from the race for one of the three positions with the national team. The proof?

“Next winter I would really like to sit on a beach somewhere and watch Sam play on TV!” “, joked Allen on Wednesday after the New Jersey Devils practice.

Montembeault’s assistant in Montreal for nearly three seasons, Allen is convinced that his former teammate deserves his place on Team Canada for the tournament which will take place in mid-February.

Allen always had affection for Montembeault. From his text messages after the Quebecer’s victory at the 2023 World Championship to words of comfort during more difficult matches, Allen played the role of the veteran wonderfully. He is doing it again here by promoting his candidacy.

That said, it is not clear that the Montreal factor will weigh heavily in such a short tournament. Canada will only play two matches at the Bell Centre, before heading to Boston for a third duel, and for the final if it qualifies.

Montembeault also finished two sitting starts on the bench because he was removed in favor of Cayden Primeau. However, he is not the only representative of the maple leaf to have experienced difficulties; there are only two (Comrie and Cam Talbot) to display an efficiency higher than .905.

When is the reunion?

Allen is still waiting to face his former CH teammates for the first time since the trade on March 8, and we still don’t know if he will do it this Thursday. He certainly faced them on September 24, but it was during a preparatory match.

He was the one who got his team’s last start, a shutout in Edmonton on Monday, but Sheldon Keefe still hasn’t given him two starts in a row, even after his shutout on October 14 (the next game was the next day, however).

Still, Jacob Markström is the number one goalie on this team until proven otherwise. For the moment, they present statistics as identical as are George Parros and the guy drawn in the window of the restaurant La ligne rouge.

• Jacob Markström: 5-4-1, 2.62 average, .907 efficiency
• Jake Allen: 3-1-1, 2.60 GAA, .904 efficiency

Allen, however, often saw the members of the current core of the CH. He returned to Brossard once the season ended last April, because he did not want to change his children’s schools so late in the year.

“I trained in Brossard until July, so I was there with Nick, Suzy, Cole, Savvy, Andy,” he lists. There were several of us at Andy’s wedding [Josh Anderson]. They are friends for life. »

“I’m truly blessed to be able to say, when I retire, that I played for this team, and not just one year, but almost four years. We almost won the Stanley Cup in this jersey. Where I come from, the Canadian is the team that interests everyone. It means a lot to me. I had seven good seasons in St. Louis, but this jersey is not like the others. »