Comments on: Jaroslav Halak's contract: Better for Halak, the Blues … or the Habs?

By: Razamanaz

Razamanaz — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:57:04 +0000

I don’t think you have seen Halak since his 1st. game as a Hab to his last. Since the beginning he has played great, his 1st. year when Huet was injured he came in and kept us fighting for a playoff spot. When price was given the #1 spot for 3 straight years, he never once earned it. When price was injured Halak came in, played great got us into the playoffs but Boob Gainey played his unproven price, who went on to lose 4 straight games and looked like he did not belong in the NHL!! On top of all that, price could play 5-6 or even 8 games, even if he played poorly, Gainey would still play him, where as with Halak who, even if he lost 1-0 and played great, he never got to play the next game (what I mean is, when he played with price, he never got to play after a loss,NEVER, but price could lose 8 straight and all bad but would keep getting the next start). Halak was treated very poorly by the Habs even though he was 10 times better than price and they are going to miss him!! Price has gotten worse year after year and that will not change! The Habs kept the wrong goalie and it’s us, the fan who will pay for it. With price we won’t even make the playoffs.

By: Always Habs Fan

Always Habs Fan — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:42:48 +0000

I think Montreal was right by not re-signing Halak, there is no reason to doubt the decision until we see how both play. Remember the last time Montreal was faced with the same decision how it worked out (Jose Theodore), believe you me, Montreal knows their goaltenders and never seem to be short of them. Is Carey Price the answer? I don’t know, I don’t think anyone knows, he’s still pretty young and only time will tell, but hopefully last year was an eye opener for him, being put in the #2 position instead of being praised as the next coming of Patrick Roy. I believe (hope) he realized the goaltender’s are a dime a dozen these days and he can be replaced at any time. Look at M.A Fleury at the start of his career, people were question Pittsburgh taking him, but the stuck by him and is now one of the best goalies in the league with alot of years ahead of him. As a Habs fan I hope everything goes the way I think and Carey Price works out, if not I’m pretty confident that there’s a goaltender in Montreal’s system that no one has heard of that will come out of nowhere and step up and take the job.

By: j2

j2 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:53:00 +0000

I think you mean St Louis wants Halak to play 60+ games.
From the Montreal perspective, if Halak would have wanted the same take home pay it would have meant he would have wanted more money. Taxes in Quebec are higher than Missouri. This would have cost them Plekanec, the second line center, as well as Carey Price, the as-yet unsigned “chosen one” goalie who vied with Jaro for the number one spot.
Fans in Montreal are pretty rabid about trading Halak but the club was in an untenable situation as far as the cap and weak offensive production. For all that Halak was amazing, he can’t do anything about three shutouts.
The final contract is equivalent to the offer sheet amount so I have no problem with how the situation turned out. I wouldve loved another year to watch everything play out, however.
Everyone wishes the best for Halak with the Blues.

By: moustache

moustache — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:51:11 +0000

This could have a big impact on Niemi’s arbitration. There really isn’t a good player to compare Niemi to, but Halak is probably about as good as any. Had then situation been left to the FA market, the Hawks would have had a pretty good chance of resigning him for under the $2.6M draft pick compensation level. If the arbitration awards Niemi a similar contract it would be difficult for the Hawks to sign him if they also intend on retaining Hjalmarsson. On the other hand Halak was a bit more impressive, and while both players are relatively inexperienced Halak still has about twice as much although no Stanley Cup.

By: David

David — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:02:29 +0000

I think if MON ever reached out to Halak this offseason to gauge what is asking price was, he’d be the one still in MON. I don’t think there’s any way they trade him if they knew they could get him at this price. Doesn’t look good for management, trading a valuable playoff hero. If Lehtonen 3 yrs @ $3.55 million in Dallas is generally considered a good deal, this has to be a steal.

By: Matt Reitz

Matt Reitz — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:23:38 +0000

Should be interesting to see what happens with the Blues next year. I expected them to be one of the better teams in the West last year, but they took a GIGANTIC step backwards because… well, they’re young forwards took a gigantic step backwards.
I love the signing because for all the young talent they’ve had spread throughout the organization, goaltending was the glaring hole (and now, Ben Bishop wasnt the answer). I love that Davidson and Co. were proactive and MADE something happened. Even if it doesn’t work out, they went out and made the move they thought would help them the most. Gotta respect that kind of management.