Blues Get Halak Locked Up With Four-Year Deal

 

Looking to complete the process that will have Jaroslav Halak sport the crease for the St. Louis Blues, the team announced on Tuesday that he was signed to a four-year, $15 million contract. The contract will have an annual cap hit of $3.75 million but pay out salaries of $2.75 million next season, $3.5 million in 2011-12, $4.25 million in 2012-13 and $4.5 million in 2013-14.

Halak was acquired by the Blues via a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 17 that sent Lars Eller and Ian Schultz to the Habs in return. The Canadiens chose to deal Halak after a superhero performance in the playoffs, where he backstopped the team to a Conference Finals appearance. With both Carey Price and he entering restricted free agency and looked upon as No. 1 options, the Canadiens stuck with their fifth overall selection from 2005 and dealt Halak.

Luckily for St. Louis, Halak was excited about the move and believes he can help the organization.

"I've been looking forward to playing in St. Louis ever since the trade was announced," Halak said in a statement by the Blues. "I believe in my abilities and hope to do some good things for the Blues."

Halak looks to build off a career year last season. He outplayed Price to move into the starting goaltender position and award the Canadiens with a 26-13-5 record in 45 appearances. He also posted five shutouts and a league ranked fourth save percentage of .924. In the playoffs, he went 9-9 with a 2.55 goals against average and .923 percentage as he led the Canadiens past two favorites in the Eastern Conference - Washington and Pittsburgh - before succumbing to the Flyers in the third round.

With a four-year deal in place, the Blues have some security that their netminding position is in order. Previously, Chris Mason was the Blues' starter and did an admirable job. But at 34 years of age, he was never going to be a long-term option and that made it easy for St. Louis to pull the trigger on a deal for the 25-year old Halak when he was made available. Mason signed a two-year deal with the Thrashers on July 1.