The Canadian will launch its activities for the 2023-2024 season by hosting its traditional golf tournament on Monday. This will be followed by the rookie camp, some of which will take place in Buffalo, and then the actual training camp. The rebuilding will continue this season. However, there will be very clear problems when players refer to Martin St-Louis. Over the next few days, Le Journal will introduce you to the most important ones.
Jake Allen just turned 33. According to many, the Age of Christ is the Age of Decline in the Gatekeeper Universe. With a few exceptions, this is where everything starts to fall apart. That could be what awaits the Canadian goalkeeper.
• Also read: Canadian Goaltenders: Is Kent Hughes Staying With Casey DeSmith?
• Also read: Jake Allen would have sought confirmation from the CH
• Also read: Jason Maas and Martin St-Louis: The principle is the same
Furthermore, numbers collected by Sportlogiq, a company specializing in advanced statistics, show that Kent Hughes will soon have to ask questions about his veteran’s future.
At the Journal’s request, Sportlogiq compiled goalkeeping statistics by age for the past seven seasons.
We find that there is progress in their effectiveness up to the age of 29. What follows is a pretty significant decline until age 33, the age at which there are fewer goaltenders in the NHL.
In addition, the stabilization of the decline after the age of 33 cannot be explained by a sudden revival of life. Rather, it is due to the fact that their services will no longer be used unless they continue to provide reputable services. In short: Only those who can still stand out keep their job and are offered new contracts.
Given these statistics, we understand that this profession takes time to master and reach its peak. And those who stay at the top for a long time are not many. That’s pretty ungrateful. Especially since the decline usually occurs quite quickly.
Last year, of the 62 goaltenders who played at least 20 NHL games, 13 were 33 or older. A group in which we found Marc-André Fleury, Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen. But also Craig Anderson, Brian Elliott and Jonathan Quick.
Photo USA TODAY Sports
Hard on the body
The goalkeeper position is certainly the one that puts the most strain. There’s so much stress on the hips, knees and ankles that it’s no wonder careers are short.
Over the course of a season, the hardest-working masked men must complete at least 1,600 throws. So we’re talking at least 1600 squats. Even someone who goes to mass every Sunday doesn’t do that.
And this is without taking into account shots that miss the target, for which the goalkeepers also have to move, or shots that are made in training. Certainly close to 150 per session, so around 22,000 per season.
And all of this is just in the regular season.
Which brings us to the next question: Is it better to trust an up-and-coming 25-year-old with a modest salary and still strong legs, or a veteran in his mid-30s whose salary is largely due to his past successes? Whose body could give in at any moment?
A question Hughes will have to ask himself at some point. Maybe not this winter, but definitely next offseason. At this point, Allen’s contract has one season left and is worth $3.85 million. Allen will then be… 34 years old.