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The Canadian will launch the activities of its 2023-2024 season by holding its traditional golf tournament on Monday. This will be followed by rookie camp, a portion of which will be held in Buffalo, and then the real training camp. Reconstruction will continue this season. Nevertheless, there will be some very noticeable stakes when the players relate to Martin St-Louis. Over the next few days, The newspaper will introduce you to the main ones.
Jake Allen just turned 33. The age of Christ according to many, that of decline in the universe of goalkeepers. With a few exceptions, this is where it all starts to fall apart. This could be what awaits the goalkeeper of the Canadian.
• Read also: Canadian goaltenders: Will Kent Hughes stay stuck with Casey DeSmith?
• Read also: Jake Allen would have obtained the confirmation of the CH
• Read also: Jason Maas and Martin St-Louis: the principle is the same
Moreover, the figures compiled by Sportlogiq, a firm specializing in advanced statistics, show that Kent Hughes will soon have to ask questions about the future of his veteran.
At the request of NewspaperSportlogiq has compiled goalkeeper statistics, by age, over the past seven campaigns.
We note that there is a progression in terms of their effectiveness until the age of 29 years. This is followed by a fairly pronounced decline until the age of 33, the age at which goalies begin to be fewer in number in the NHL.
Moreover, the stabilization of the fall from the age of 33 cannot be explained by a sudden revival of life. Rather, it is attributable to the fact that their services are no longer retained, unless they continue to offer respectable performances. In short, only those who are still able to stand out keep their jobs and are offered new contracts.
In light of these statistics, we understand that it takes time to master this profession and reach its peak. And those who stay at the top for a long time are not many. This is rather ungrateful. Especially since the decline usually happens 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.
Picture USA TODAY Sports
Hard on the body
The goalkeeper position is certainly the one that wears the most. The hips, knees and ankles are so strained that it’s no wonder careers are short.
Over the course of a season, the busiest masked men face at least 1600 pitches. We are therefore talking about a minimum of 1600 genuflections. Even someone who goes to mass every Sunday doesn’t do the same.
And that’s not counting the shots that miss the target, for which the goalkeepers must also move, or the shots received in training. Certainly nearly 150 per session, so around 22,000 per season.
And all that includes only the regular season.
Which brings us to the next question: Is it better to trust a rising 25-year-old with a modest salary and still strong legs or a veteran in his mid-30s whose salary is mostly due to his exploits of the past and whose body can fail at any moment?
A question that Hughes will eventually have to ask himself. Maybe not this winter, but definitely in the next off season. At that time, there will be one season left at $3.85 million on Allen’s contract, who will then be… 34 years old.
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