BREAKING NEWS: Halak Dealt To Blues
George Prax | Jun 17, 2010 | Comments 9
According to various sources, the Montreal Canadiens have shipped goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in return for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
If you asked yourself ”who?” when looking at that trade, well, you wouldn’t be the only one.
Lars Eller looks like a decent prospect. Drafted 13th overall in the 2007 Entry Draft, Eller is a forward from Denmark (Really?). The 21 year old started his young career in Sweden before moving to Peoria this past season to play with the Rivermen of the AHL, where he accumulated 18 goals and 39 assists in 70 games. He also made his debut with the Blues, scoring 2 goals in 7 games.
Ian Schultz is a Right Winger from Calgary who has played the last 3 seasons with the Hitmen of the WHL. He’s had seasons on 30, 41, and 51 points respectively, not to mention PIM totals of 128, 127 and 150, again, respectively. Apparently he can throw ‘em, but beyond that there’s not much I can tell you about Ian Schultz (TCL Contributor Derrick Newman might be able to shed some light on this 20 year old).
That’s it folks. Two forward prospects who don’t have NHL experience, one of them who hasn’t played a professional hockey game yet. No top six forward who can help the team where it lacked this season, no young defenseman to complement for the serious lack of depth beyond what you saw this past season, nothing but prospects.
The real questions that need to be asked here are:
a) What what Pierre Gauthier thinking?
b) What are Gauthier’s intentions with this team going forward? Does he care about immediate success or is he satisfied with stockpiling prospects that might not even pan out?
c) Was there really nothing better available for Halak, arguably the MVP of the playoffs not to make the finals?
d) Seriously Pierre, WTF were you thinking?
I don’t want to play armchair GM here, but methinks someone who played as well as Halak did and brought the Canadiens to where they were this season could AT LEAST fetch a couple of roster players if packaged with the right players/prospects/picks/whatever going the other direction.
And considering the word is that Gauthier (or anyone else from the Habs camp, for that matter) didn’t even bother contacting Halak and his agent, outspoken Allan Walsh, to talk contract, trade, or even how the daisies smelled in Slovakia this time of year, is clearly an indication that there was no intention to keep Halak in this organization going forward, no matter what he did during the playoffs, and that Price was their man.
That’s all fine. If they want Carey Price to be their guy, then he’s their guy and this is a massive vote of confidence for the player and could have a great effect on him next season.
Problem is, the situation reeks of bad management, and poor, rash decision making.
Around the net people were talking about a Brad Boyes, Erik Johnson, or David Perron coming back in return, along with a first round draft pick.
Instead, we get Lars Eller (who could pan out to be a great NHLer in his own right, don’t get me wrong) and Ian Schultz (I still don’t know who that is).
Great job Gauthier. Turns out I was right about you all along. I cannot wait to see how you dig this team further into the ground at the draft and at free agency.
I will definitely have more to say about this tomorrow. For now, I think I’m going to have to lay down for a bit.
—————————
EDIT: According to Pierre Lebrun, the Habs get Lars Eller and Ian Shultz in return. Ugh, who?
According to TSN and RDS.
No details on what’s coming back the other way, but if I had to guess I’d say Perron and a 1st. Details will be added to this post shortly.
More to come,
Prax
Filed Under: Eastern Conference • Featured • Featured Rumors • Montreal Canadiens • NHL • NHL Teams • Rumors • St. Louis Blues • Western Conference
UPDATED.
Great article George, finally I had predicted the right team, but the wrong goalie!! -> http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/slasher98/16475/
George, the Habs trade a ninth round pick in Halak, who was sure to be looking for a sizable raise, for a first round pick in Eller who has significant upside.
Eller’s scouting report here:
http://forecaster.canada.com/faceoff/hockey/player.cgi?6418
BTW Denmark produces excellent hockey players, as they demonstrated at the Worlds this year.
Ian Schultz scored 24 goals (with 150 PIM) in the very tough Western Hockey League last year. The Calgary Hitmen have produced first rate NHLers.
Schultz’s scouting report here:
http://forecaster.canada.com/faceoff/hockey/player.cgi?6898
You want size up front? Schultz has it.
Montreal management is much smarter than many fans and commentators give them credit for.
After all, the Habs did get to the Eastern Final this year, did they not?
Dave, I appreciate your comments, but I don’t think draft position for these players really matters. It’s about what have you done for me lately, and what can you do for me in the future. Halak is one of the major reasons this team made the playoffs at all, yet alone made the conf. finals, and I’m actually fine with them trading him and going with Price, but why make this move as if you were a seller, and not try and, I don’t know, package Halak with another piece or two and try and get a roster player with some experience.
I would have much preferred paying a little more to get a Berglund or a Perron.
Another question to ponder, if Schultz and Eller are so good, then why were the Blues (who’s management aren’t pushovers) so keen to give up on them? The answer is because they were expendable, and because they don’t think those players would be able to crack their line-up. Yet they’re fine for montreal.
Don’t get me wrong, the deal itself is fair, and frankly the Canadiens could win it, contingent on Eller’s development and whether he can actually pan out as a top 6 forward in the NHL. Problem is, it doesn’t benefit the Canadiens TODAY. Gauthier even admitted that, talking about the future in his press conference.
I also disagree with you when you say that Montreal management is smarter than what they’re given credit for. In fact they’re worse. They’re easy to give up on players, get pushed around when it comes to trades and they’re lazy when it comes to scouting, player development and due diligence when it comes to these types of things.
I think they’re lucky more than anything else.
But thanks for your comments, I definitely appreciate it. You too Fred, and good job with that prediction, haha.
The Habs should have at least waited until the draft. Eller is a good prospect, but most prospect sites have him as a good second liner in the future. Schultz looks like a 3rd-4th line tweener.
Regardless of the upsides, the PR impact of a trade like this is bad for Montreal.
Exactly JS. If they had waited to the draft they may have been able to pit a couple of teams against each other to drive up the price, or something along those lines. I think it’s pretty obvious that Gauthier wasn’t really looking to do any hard work here.
Look at what Brian Burke has done with Kaberle. He’s created a bidding war amongst teams for a very good player, one who’s likely to be traded for a lot more than he’s worth, and how? Simply by sitting back, taking a few phone calls, doing an interview or two and driving up the market for his player.
Gauthier took the easy route, and for all we know, took the first deal that was offered to him.
The deal itself is fair, as I said. Eller WILL play in the NHL and is likely a top 6 forward, and Schultz has size and grit. For all we know they could be the next Mike Richards and Milan Lucic, respectively. But with Halak’s value at an all-time high, and the Canadiens coming off a final-four finish, they should have been looking for immediate improvements, not more potential.
The deal just has way too many “maybes”.
I can’t even fathom what the Habs are thinking. Franchise goalies are hard to find, you certainly don’t trade them for 2 prospects.
The Habs witnessed just how far you can ride a great goalie, which is much farther than even a superstar can take you (Kovalchuk, Gaborik, Ovechkin, etc.)
I thought if they were going to trade Halak for some reason, they should at least try to package him with one of their bad contracts or something…but wow. Did not see this coming.
With the deadline deal the two teams made + this one they have swapped Halak and D’Agostini for Eller, Palushaj, and Schultz.
Blues fans have been clamoring for this deal. Many wanted Halak,but they didn’t think the price would be Eller. He was #2 on the prospect depth chart only because of Pietrangelo’s existence. Lars can play. His two NHL goals were on deflections from dirty areas. The kid isn’t afraid to use his body and get low. He has all the needed skill to make plays in tight corners and work the boards. Give him some time to fill out and he will be a very good player.
Eller’s presence in the deal definitely makes me feel a little better about the deal. Frankly, I think he starts the year with the Habs on a line with Gomez and Gionta.