Muž za Maskou (The Man Behind the Mask)

Born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and drafted late in the 2003 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens, goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been a brick wall between the pipes wherever he has played.

In 2003, the young net minder helped carry the Slovakian U-18 team to a silver medal and was named top goalie in the tournament. In that tournament, Halak played the most minutes in net (419) and still managed to have the second lowest goals against average at 2 per game.

Following that performance at the World U-18 championships, Jaroslav made the jump to North America playing a season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. While he spent time at both the QMJHL and AHL levels in 2004-05, Halak shone with the Lewiston Maineiacs in the Quebec League, leading the team into the playoffs.

Even though they were knocked out by the eventual Memorial Cup runners-up, Halak’s record of 24-17 and a 2.78 goals against average in a league known for its high-powered offense, earned him a spot with the Bulldogs in the AHL.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, Halak was promoted to the Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate in Long Beach where he posted the league’s second best goals against average and led the league in save percentage. Despite suffering injuries during the season, he was called up to the AHL where he would stay for good.

Halak started to dominate at the AHL level, leading the league in goals against average and recording the second best save percentage. His impressive numbers earned him goaltender of the month in November and a place as starting netminder for the Planet USA All-Star team.

That performance in the AHL also earned him a spot in Montreal where he played a big role in the team’s late-season surge for a playoff spot.

Obviously Halak’s performance in the AHL earned him a spot on the NHL team. However, performance at the AHL level is exponentially more important for goaltenders as compared to position players. In discussing goaltending prospects Cory Schneider and Ben Bishop, BluesBuzz writer Andy Strickland stressed that young goalies must earn their spot in the NHL.

“People talk about Cory Schneider. He’s just getting to the NHL this year. He’s paid his dues in the minors and while he was there, he was the best goaltender in the entire league,” said Strickland. “You don’t just hand guys assignments to the NHL. [You have to] dominate the AHL before we start talking about the NHL.”

While continuing to pay his dues in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Halak earned 6 appearances with the Habs behind Carey Price and Cristobal Huet. During his time that season with the NHL team, Halak posted 1 shutout and finished with a 2.11 goals against average. He also got in on 2 playoff games that year with Montreal playing a total of 77 minutes.

While it was Price who ultimately became the Habs' back-up, Halak started his NHL career playing behind Price.

Despite stints in the NHL, Halak remained focused while in the AHL posting 2 shutouts, 2.10 goals against average, and a .929 save percentage in 28 games with the Bulldogs.

Halak played the majority of the 2008-09 season in the NHL. Backing up 2005 first round pick Carey Price, Halak put up a respectable record of 18-14 in 34 games played.

It was last season, however, that Halak was finally able to break through on the NHL level. With Price struggling to find his consistency at times during the season, Halak was given the majority of the appearances during the regular season and did not disappoint. In 45 games played the 24-year-old goaltender posted a record of 26-13 with a 2.40 goals against average.

Halak’s hot streak continued into the playoffs where he essentially carried the Canadiens past the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, two NHL powerhouses. The magic ran out in the Eastern Conference Finals, however, and the Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Habs in 5 games. To give you an idea of how unprecedented the Habs’ 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs push was, no 8^th seeded team had ever come back to win the opening round series after being down 3 games to 1.

Halak’s performance between the pipes was undoubtedly the driving force behind that playoff run. Only two Canadiens scored more than 4 goals (and only 1 scored more than 10) and just 3 of the team’s victories were by more than 1 goal.

Halak was a fan favorite in Montreal. Needless to say, the fans were unhappy with his departure.(Click for article)

While the Canadiens front office was hoping to keep both Price and Halak, allowing the two to alternate throughout the season, neither goalie wanted to share time with the other, forcing the Habs to make a move. Despite his performance in the playoffs, it was Halak, much to the chagrin of many Habs fans, who was traded to the Saint Louis Blues for forward Lars Eller (pictured below).

While GM Doug Armstrong and the Blues may have traded away a player with potential to evolve into one of the leagues’ most prolific forwards, Halak has the potential to become a consistent, reliable net minder, something the team has been searching for, for the past few years.

It should be interesting to see if Halak is able to perform like he did last year and how fans gauge the success of this deal. Even if Halak develops into one of the league’s top goaltenders, the big question will still be was it still worth giving up a player like Eller for him, especially if he evolves into a top notch forward.

With Jaroslav locked up for 4 more years, the Blues will essentially live and die with him between the pipes. They have invested too much in him to give up on him, should he start to struggle. While Ty Conklin is one of the league’s best back-up goaltenders, it doesn’t make much sense for the Blues to have their 4-year/$15 million investment riding the bench throughout this season.

Another possible downside to this deal (and by no means am I suggesting that this will happen or that I am hoping any of this happens) is that the Blues have invested a lot marketing wise into Halak. As soon as he was acquired, the team began to promote his addition to the team, and he wasn’t even signed at the time. While it looks bad for the team’s star acquisition to struggle on the ice, it looks even worse to sit that guy on the bench, allowing him to “gather dust.”

Now I turn it over to you, Blues fans. What are you expecting out of Halak? And even if he is “successful” during his time with the Blues, was it still worth trading away your top prospect in Lars Eller (assuming he becomes one of the league’s best forwards)?

Thanks for reading!