Allen, 56, joins Washington after spending the previous three seasons with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). Allen served as an assistant coach for two seasons before being named Hershey's head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season. Under Allen, Hershey finished with a record of 34-32-6-4, clinching a Calder Cup Playoff berth, and ranked tied for 11th in the AHL in goals against (209).
The New Bedford, Massachusetts native brings more than 25 years of professional coaching experience, which includes assistant positions with the New York Islanders (2009-12), the Florida Panthers (2016-17) and the Arizona Coyotes (2017-19). With Arizona, Allen worked with the Coyotes' defensemen and penalty kill. During the 2018-19 season, Arizona ranked tied for first in the NHL in penalty kill percentage (85.0) and tied for fifth in goals against per game (2.68). In Allen's one season with Florida, the Panthers finished with the second-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL (85.3).
Allen has coached in the AHL for 14 seasons, serving as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Rampage (2002-04, 2014-15), the Lowell Lock Monsters/Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (2004-07), the Quad City Flames (2007-09), the Peoria Rivermen (2012-13), the Chicago Wolves (2013-14) and the Portland Pirates (2015-16). Allen has additionally served as an interim head coach for parts of three seasons, including with San Antonio in 2002-03 and 2003-04, and with Portland in 2015-16.
In addition to his NHL and AHL coaching experience, Allen has worked in the ECHL as an assistant and head coach, beginning as an assistant in 1996 with the Johnstown Chiefs. Allen was named Johnstown's head coach in 1997 and went on to guide the Chiefs to three straight Kelly Cup Playoff appearances from 1999-00 to 2001-02, reaching the American Conference Championship twice.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Allen played professionally for 10 seasons in the All-American Hockey League, Atlantic Coast Hockey League, Colonial Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. Allen, a forward, won back-to-back Kelly Cups with the Carolina Thunderbirds in 1989 and the Greensboro Monarchs in 1990.
