Newly acquired Devils goaltender Jake Allen revealed today that his trade was more complicated than we thought. <h2>Allen Rejected Trade With Devils Over Playing Time Concerns</h2> Apparently, the Devils tried to acquire Allen earlier in the season. However, the team was running a tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid at the time. Allen invoked his no-trade clause to reject the trade as he thought he would be stuck behind those goaltenders, getting limited ice time as a result. <q>Jake Allen after practice said Devils tried to trade for him earlier in the year. He didn't waive NTC bc at the time w/Vanecek/Schmid he didn't see a future/ playing time in NJ.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/JimBiringer/status/1767967025467408579'> </a></blockquote></div> That being said, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald was very excited to add Allen at the trade deadline. He was singing the praises of the goaltender after the deadline passed. <q>Being able to go out and get a veteran, with a lot of character, great locker room guy, great athlete in Jake Allen, who's excited to be a part of our organization � he has a no-trade clause, and he waived it to come to us because he sees the opportunity and the upside.</q> <h2>Devils Continue To Lose Hope In Playoff Race</h2> Allen was likely a target for the Devils thanks to the fact that he still has another year left on his contract after this one. This is especially important considering the Devils appear to be heading towards missing the playoffs this season. The team has lost both of their games since the deadline, making their path to the playoffs extremely difficult. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1767363262113260005'> </a></blockquote></div> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1766559420815659443'> </a></blockquote></div> As such, Allen and his new teammates will look to rally next season where hopefully better goaltending performances and a new head coach will lift the team to the promise land once again. As seen on <a href='https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/goalie-jake-allen-admits-to-devils-he-rejected-their-first-trade-offer?fbclid=IwAR3h6Hb0QgTMbfI5M1WZ6v-a7gM8G3uDOhd1P5Fbb2pdW386_lNDK0uI_aw' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Goalie Jake Allen admits to Devils he rejected their first trade offer</a>