The Montreal Canadiens Must Trade Carey Price & Keep Jaroslav Halak
Fred Poulin | May 21, 2010 | Comments 11
Halak or Price? This question has been on the lips of every Canadiens fan and every journalist in Montreal since the start of the season. With young goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price both about to become restricted free agents (RFA) at season’s end and the Canadiens being very up tight against the salary cap for next season, it’s obvious there won’t be room for both of them next season. So, who stays and who goes?
Halak or Price?
With Pierre Gauthier’s arrival, following Bob Gainey’s resignation this winter, Halak was finally been given the opportunity to show what he can do in the No. 1 role and he responded very well. With the Stanley Cup run the Montreal Canadiens are having this season with Halak as their MVP, one could claim Pierre Gauthier’s decision will be easier after the season. But the (problem) with Halak’s great performance is that his agent Alan Walsh will seek big dollars for his client from the Montreal Canadiens when they meet with the Habs management to talk contract extension in June.
Ironically, earlier this season, former GM Bob Gainey made it clear to other GMs that he was ready to trade Halak and ride Price into the future. Heck, there were even reports that Gainey had talks with the Philadelphia Flyers about Halak, but GM Paul Holmgren denied that trade talks ever occurred.
When we looked at the Flyers’ problems in net this season, I’m pretty sure Holmgren and some of the 28 other GMs are biting their nails until it bleeds for not trading for Halak (he could have been had for a prospect and a draft pick at the time).
But now things have changed in Montreal as the Canadiens have defeated the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, both in seven games, thanks to Halak’s stellar play in the post-season. In 16 games, Halak has nine wins and seven losses, with a 2.55 GAA and an exceptional .926 save %. Save for three games where he was yanked in lopsided losses, Halak has been quite consistent and reliable this post-season for le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.
Halak, who turned 25 years-old last week, is only two years older than Price, but he seems much more mature. Price, who will turn 23 in August, still has a lot of things to learn before he becomes a bona-fide all-star goaltender in the NHL, and many people wonder if he can do it under the bright lights of Montreal. Like Guillaume Latendresse, he might simply need a change of scenery to shine at the elite level.
However, Gauthier is well aware that he must make a decision quick, because other GMs could take advantage of the situation and make an offer sheet to Carey Price to pry him from Montreal a la Dustin Penner or Thomas Vanek (it could even come once again from the Edmonton Oilers).
But here are a few other teams that will be looking for a young starting goalie that could become great trade partners for the Montreal Canadiens:
St. Louis Blues: With only one NHL goaltender signed for next season (Ty Conklin at $1.3M/year), the Blues will be looking to upgrade the position for next season. The Chris Mason experiment has been a flop (the same thing happened to Team Canada at the World Championship with Mason as their starter).
GM Larry Pleau would be wise to call the Canadiens and inquire about Price’s price before July 1st. The Blues are loaded with young talented players up front that could be made expendable in the right deal. Youngsters such as David Perron, Patrick Berglund and TJ Oshie could very well interest Montreal.
Dallas Stars: With Marty Turco’s imminent departure from Dallas, GM Joe Nieuwendyk gave a three-year extension to Kari Lehtonen (I still don’t understand the move, especially at $3.5M per year), but he will have to get another quality netminder as we all know Lehtonen’s addiction for the infirmary. Youngsters like Jamie Been and James Neal would certainly appeal to Pierre Gauthier.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Mike Smith was supposed to become the number one goaltender in Tampa Bay, but a concussion derailed his development and his play was inconsistent all season long. Antero Niitymaki, set to become a UFA, is not the long-term solution for this struggling franchise. The problem for Tampa Bay is the lack of young talent, which would make this trade very difficult to happen.
Philadelphia Flyers: With only Brian Boucher signed for next season, likely as the back-up goaltender, the Flyers really need to find a quality starting goaltender for the years to come. Ray Emery has been injured most of the season with a severe hip injury that required surgery and we still don’t know what will be his physical condition for the upcoming season. Waiver-wire-wonder Michael Leighton is currently the Flyers’ starter in the playoffs after Brian Boucher went down with a knee injury in the series against Boston. Don’t expect miracles from Leighton over the longer term, as he’s been a quality sport starter in the NHL during his career.
Carey Price would be a great fit in Philly, a team that has not had a first-grade quality starter since the likes of Pelle Lindberg and Ron Hextall. The Flyers also boast a plethora of talented young players such as Claude Giroux, James Van Riemsdyk, Patrick Maroon and Ville Leino.
Which goalie should Pierre Gauthier trade? And what should he ask in return?
Filed Under: Dallas Stars • Featured • Montreal Canadiens • Philadelphia Flyers • St. Louis Blues • Tampa Bay Lightning
Hi, Fred, good thorough article. For me, the choice is clear and simple. Canadiens MUST keep Halak. I keep saying that he is very talented and has a very good attitude. Price is talented, but has a s****y attitude.
Price good be part of a bigger deal including Plekanec, who does nothing in the playoff and qho will cost a great deal….
I think it’s a strong bet right now that Halak stays and Price goes. But it might not be a bad idea for Montreal to try and get both under contract and wait a couple of months into next season before making a deal. Maybe Price plays well and boosts his value. Maybe a team losses their goalie and gets desperate. Either way I think you’d get more for the asset by waiting to move it.
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Call me crazy, but I think both should still be kept. Halak will get paid, but Price can probably retained for cheaper. Gauthier will need to shed some payroll to make this happen, but I think he has to.
If not, then Price will likely be the one to go, lest there be a PR disaster. That doesn’t mean I have to like it…I refuse to choose one over the other right now. There were once upon a time accusations about Price’s attitude and work ethic, but he’s done a nice job in rectifying that. He confronted Sergei Kostitsyn, and was the center of a report by CBC’s Elliotte Friedman about how Price was a calming influence on Halak after he had given up a weak goal vs the Flyers earlier this week.
That doesn’t sound like the attitude of someone you don’t want to have around.
If Price is to be moved, Gauthier would be wise to ship him out West. There’s no way you allow a talent like that the opportunity to haunt you in your own conference year after year.
you hit it right on nail on the head the habs have no choice Halak is the best goalie in the playoffs right now.
Randy
The problem with keeping both goalies is that there won’t be enough money to re-sign players like Plekanec, Pyatt, Pouliot, Lapierre, Moore, etc. Gauthier would have to trade a high-salary player such as Hamrlik, Gomez or Spacek and I highly doubt he will find any takers for them.
Maybe Sather takes Gomez back. Or Gainey gets a job with another club and decides to trade for him again.
It’ll be tough to keep both but the return on Price right now wouldn’t be much. His play this year wasn’t great and he’s going to be looking for a raise ($2.2 million after bonuses), not a big selling point if you ask me.
JUST MAYBE IF OVERPAID PLAYER LIKE GOMAZ WAS SENT PACKING THAN THERE WOULD BE ENOUGH MONEY TO KEEP THE BOTH GOALTENDERS AND RESIGN OTHER PLAYERS
Gomez is untradeable….
oh unless Gainey GMs somewhere else next season. ;)
Keep Price trade Halak, you’ll get more for Halak in a trade and I still think Price can put it all together and become an all star goalie.
If Halak is going to ask for 5 million, the Habs should trade him. We have to be real. The Habs are still very much rebuilding, despite their huge over achievement in the playoffs. If Halak gets 5 million, it will handicap building of the rest of the team. They need more depth up front and on the blue line. Halak has peaked. He goes down early and kicks out huge rebounds. There are not too many undersized goaltenders who have long careers as elite goalies with these traits. Price will command significantly less money, which will give them more room to work with. Price is still only 22, and still has a huge upside. Losing his job seems to have done something to spark him, and all that is needed with him is a more mature mental attitude, and he can be great. I would love to see them both stay, but keeping Price allows more money to build the rest of the team, which the Habs desperately need to do. You can’t build a team around a goalie facing 40 shots every game.