Insider confirms Leafs' interest in Atlantic Division rival goaltender

Goaltending has been their Achilles heel as of late with Ilya Samsonov play being so poorly that the Leafs were forced to place him on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL.

The Leafs' spotty goaltending this season has forced general manager Brad Treliving to explore the trade market. An intriguing name available is Montreal Canadiens goalie Jake Allen. The 33-year-old has another year left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $3.85M, just a hair above what the Leafs are paying Samsonov this year - and wouldn't you know it, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta has linked the Leafs to their longest-standing rival in trade talks surrounding Allen.

The Canadiens appear set on going with their younger duo of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau while using Allen only sparingly this season. Allen has a record of 4-6-2 this season with a .907 save percentage and 3.43 GAA.

While Allen's numbers aren't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, it's important to note that he plays on a bad team at the moment. He can still provide at least average goaltending on a struggling Habs team, while helping a younger goalie along in their development. With rookie Joseph Woll taking the net over before his lower-body injury, a veteran like Allen could be very useful in mentoring the young American goalie along as he gets his feet wet at the NHL level.

The divisonal rival Canadiens and Leafs don't deal with each other often with the most recent significant trade coming back in 2018 when longtime Canadiens pivot Tomas Plekanec was sent to Toronto.

Could we see another deadline deal from the arch rivals this year? Well, that's going to depend on how Samsonov handles his current assignment.