NEWARK | Jake Allen left the Canadiens at the 2024 trade deadline and went through a bit of a rebuild before arriving in New Jersey where most of the work was done.
“I'm happy for this group, I loved the time I had there and all the people that were there for me, I'm happy to see all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. There are still some missing, but we're seeing it all unfold.”
Allen wisely reminded us that it's important to take your time when renovating.
“Everyone wants it to go quickly, but every project is on its own schedule and this team is no exception, but they have young, exciting players who are fun to watch. It's wreaking havoc in the league because they check all the boxes. They have good goalies, they have speed, youth and cohesion. The locker room is very close and that's the most important thing, to be honest, that's probably why they got to where they are so quickly,” explains Allen, who says he's still attentive. follows the team, and it shows in his words.
Upstairs
The Canadiens and Devils are hot on their heels at the top of the NHL's Eastern Conference, and in some ways the trajectories of the two teams are similar.
Both teams went through restructuring. The Devils' one was longer, but it's a little more advanced than the Canadian's, which is certainly happening a little faster than expected.
Since losing to the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, the Devils have been on a slow descent into hell. Over the past thirteen seasons, they have made the playoffs just three times and won just one series, in 2023.
At the time, the Canadian was riding the Carey Price wave, and since Price left and the team went into youth mode in 2021-22, the team has found itself in the deep end. They were the last team in the Eastern Conference once and the second-to-last team twice before returning to spring ball. And here the trajectories of the two teams begin to converge. The Canadian and the Devils were eliminated in the first round. And this year, CH finds itself first in the Atlantic with 19 points from 13 games, one more than the Devils, who are just behind.
Almost the same
Coming to the Devils in 2021, Dawson Mercer is well positioned to compare the two teams' situations, having lived through the end of the Devils' rebuild.
“We've made a lot of progress. In my first season we were bottom of the table, we learned a lot and lost a lot that maybe we should have won.”
“Now we are much more responsible and structured as a group, the team is more experienced and that helps us a lot. Our start to the season is a good indicator of that.”
The Canadian's recovery may be going a little faster than the Devils'. After all, the Canadiens are the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 25.32, and the Devils are in the bottom third at 28.56, but Mercer sees similarities here.
“We see that this is a team that just recently looked like ours. They are on the rise.”
“These are similar situations, but at the same time, each team writes its own story,” adds Nico Hischier. But this is a great team with very good players who will be good for a long time.”
