This off-season was going to be full of difficult decisions for Doug Armstrong. If he is serious about signing captain Alex Pietrangelo to a new contract, he absolutely needs to clear cap space. Armstrong took a huge step toward that today, dealing Jake Allen to the Montreal Canadiens.
Allen netted the Blues two draft picks in this year’s draft - Washington’s third round pick and Chicago’s 7th round pick. The deal clears $4,350,000 from the Blues’ payroll. Some of that will more than likely be taken up by Ville Husso making the shift to the NHL if Armstrong does not decide to trade for or sign a free agent veteran goaltender this fall.