Montreal Sends Playoff Hero To Blues

 

There was going to come a time during this offseason where the Montreal Canadiens needed to establish who their No. 1 goaltender was, and then get rid of the other guy. That decision came on Thursday, when the first blockbuster deal of the summer was announced. Montreal decided to stick with Carey Price, and in doing so pulled the trigger on a trade that sent the rights to Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

Halak, who will be a restricted free agent on July 1, was most recently a playoff hero for the Canadiens. As the eighth seed, Montreal was expected to be bounced by the Washington Capitals in the first round. But the Habs shocked the world by sending Alexander Ovechkin and Co. home early after a seven-game series. Then they moved on to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, as well. Montreal was hardly a match for the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals. But the fact that the team even got there after having to play two Eastern Conference favorites was an accomplishment in itself.

And the very reason for Montreal bunking the odds and getting as deep as it did in the playoffs was the quality goaltending received from Halak. He literally stole the show on several occasions as he was leading the Canadiens to victory.

Even during the regular season, Halak proved to be the more stable force in between the pipes for Montreal. He went 26-13-5 in 45 games played, sporting a 2.40 goals against average, a fourth-ranked save percentage at .924 and five shutouts.

None of that matters in the business world of hockey, though. In that world, great play equates to great trade value, and that’s all Montreal saw in him when it came time to pick their starter. It was a move that shocked the Montreal fans. It shocked Halak. And it even shocked now former-Blues goaltender Chris Mason.