The Philadelphia Flyers need to establish a plan in net this summer, but going after New Jersey Devils goalie Jake Allen just doesn't make sense for either side.
Allen, 34, is widely considered to be the best goalie option on the market this summer and, despite his advanced age, can still fill in nicely as a pseudo-starter for a contender in need.
But the Flyers aren't one of those contenders.
On a more talented Devils team that was decimated by injuries this season, Allen was still only 13-16-1 despite his 2.66 GAA, .908 save percentage, and four shutouts. Basically, Allen posted a shutout in a third of his wins.
What will Allen's performance look like behind a Flyers team that experienced several regressions and injuries this past season, and a forward group that still struggles to score even after the addition of star rookie Matvei Michkov?
Some have floated the former Stanley Cup champion goalie as a potential "cheap" option for the Flyers, but if Allen is going to be cheap, why not stay with the Devils? Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers would love a cheap goalie themselves.
The Flyers, so long as they continue to fail to make any meaningful additions to their roster via trade or free agency, are not fooling anyone into thinking they are ready to contend, let alone make the playoffs.
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And, let's be perfectly clear: Allen has one season with a save percentage greater than .908 since 2016-17. It would be deeply unfair to him to make him the savior of a Flyers team that has shuttled goalies in and out of Philadelphia constantly since the departure of Sergei Bobrovsky, and even before then.
The most the Flyers can offer Allen at this stage, at least what many other teams cannot, is a significant amount of money.
But Allen cannot play forever, so signing him to a contract is just a means to spin wheels in hockey purgatory and avoid sliding down the pole for a top draft pick for what would the third year in a row and potentially four.
If the Flyers want to go the route of free agency for goaltending, they would be better suited considering options like Michael DiPietro, an AHL star in need of a chance at the NHL who just turned 26 two weeks ago, or Alex Lyon, a former Flyers goalie and proven backup whose trade value could be rehabbed with a successful stint.
Indeed, the Flyers cannot afford to have as shocking of a performance in goal as they did last year, which is why Ivan Fedotov has apparently been pegged to start the 2025-26 season in the AHL.
At the same time, there's little value to throwing veteran stopgaps in ahead of younger players, like Aleksei Kolosov and, eventually, Carson Bjarnason, when there is no hope of winning the Stanley Cup and little hope of making the playoffs.
With the $18 million in cap space they have, the Flyers should be thinking bigger than a free agent, such as a potential offer sheet for a player like Lukas Dostal. Anaheim matches any offer sheet for the 25-year-old Dostal nine times out of 10, but the Flyers need to think permanent solution, not temporary.
Something will have to give, either now or a few years down the road.
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