Canadiens trade Halak to Blues

[Cody]

from TSN.ca (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=324934)



The Montreal Canadiens dealt the goaltender who led them through their postseason run, as the club has traded Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues.

Details to follow.

Halak, 25, spent the last four seasons with the Canadiens and shared the goaltending duties with Carey Price after being called up from the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs in February of 2008. He made his NHL debut in place of injured goaltender Cristobal Huet during the 2006-07 season with a 10-6 record, 2.89 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.

This past season, Halak's incredible play between the pipes led the Canadiens on deep run into the playoffs before they were eliminated by the Flyers in the Eastern Conference final.

The native of Slovakia, drafted 271st overall by Montreal in 2003, will become a restricted free agent in July and is eligible for salary arbitration.

[Cody]

Forwards Lars Eller and Ian Shultz going the other way.

[dso67]

i'm not surprised with this at all. I have always said that they will keep Price. Halak now has to prove that he really is a number 1 goalie. I think this season and the playoffs have fans and media maybe overrating him a little bit.

[Cody]

I think so too. But there was no way they were going to keep both goalies, and Halak played himself right out of Montreal. He's probably going to get overpaid because of his play in the playoffs.

Of course, he can continue to play well and earn every penny, but how many times have we seen a one hit wonder?

[dso67]

i think he'll do good, but i think Carey is the better goalie overall

[OpticalNerve]

I think its a stupid ass trade but I hope he does well with the blues

[dso67]

it's not a stupid trade at all anthony, you have to look at it logically not emotionally. Halak is in for a BIG payraise. I mean close to 5 million dollars possibly. which is ridiculous considering he's played 101 career games and is 56-34-7 with a 2.62 gaa and a sv% of .919. he shouldn't be making anything over 2.5 million a year due to him not playing more than 48 games in a season.

ON the flip side of the trade, we get Lars Eller who is considered a poor mans nick backstrom who is better defensively! he's played 1 season of hockey over in North America and he put up 57 points in 70 games, not at all shabby for a euro player that LIKES to play physical! I'm telling you ant, this trade is very smart and savvy for the habs.

[Cody]

I don't think there is any doubt that they got some talent back, and I think most fans understand the reasoning behind the deal, but I think some question the decision to go with Price over Halak. Price is definitly Gainey's boy and I think there is pressure on Gauthier as well because of that. When egos get involved it's tough to make rational decisions. The whole playoff run was largely due to great goaltending. If Price plays out his career as a Hab and is unable to match what Halak was able to do this past playoff then I believe this trade could haunt Montreal for some time.

[dso67]

i think Halak gets too much credit for the defense that was played in front of him. look at the philly series compared to the first two rounds. every shot was from the outside and Halak could see the long shots against washington and pittsburgh. phili moves the game in close and halak looked average. i mean he was pulled three times in three rounds, thats not good. and in each round price had to come in against an amped up team, not a good situation for him. but thats not the point. the point is, people put way to much stock into one season from halak. the fact that montreal played a terrific team defensive game, i think made halak look way better.