I'll throw a little gas on the Allen fire...

While I am not sold on this, I can see some logic to it. There are plenty of knowledgeable people in the hockey world that think goaltenders are an odd lot and most go through peaks and valleys. I listened to a pretty well respected NHL analyst documenting the rise and fall of multiple well-know netminders. In fact, he believes that nearly all of them will go through at least 2 or 3 stretches where you wonder how they ever even made it to the NHL. Guys like Miller, Quick, Crawford, etc. Even as recently as a few months ago, we saw Renni fall on his face, in the playoffs. Who wouldn't take him on their team? He documented bad stretches for Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. In short, it is a rare goalie that doesn't have ups and downs.

Now, this does not mean Allen will be solid. But we know he can play as good as anyone in the league. We've seen it. What we don't know is if he has exorcised his demons, or as I like to call them, his head-worms. At this point, we have no choice but to hope for the best. I suppose the good news is that Husso should be ready soon. If he can play, we'll have the most expensive back-up in the NHL...

As for the rest of the team, I'm still concerned about toughness and grit. I just don't see any guys on this team that the opponents look at and say, "Chit, we have to play that arsehole tonight..." or "This one is going to be a tough one boyz, we're playing the Blues..."

Off topic: If you get a chance to watch the documentary on the NHL network that chronicles the 1996 World Cup, watch it!! Lots of great interviews with legends on and off the ice.