Paul Kariya Retires After 15 NHL Seasons

One of the most gifted goal scorers in NHL officially called it a career Wednesday afternoon after a lack of progress in recovering from post-concussion syndrome. After sitting out the entire 2010-11 season in an effort to get over the ailment and resume his NHL career, Paul Kariya elected to go the safe route and end his tenure in the NHL after 15 seasons between the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

"Today, I announce my retirement from professional hockey," Kariya said in a statement released by his agent, Don Baizley. "I would like to thank all of those who have been part of so many great memories - my teammates, coaches, team management and staff."

Kariya entered the league by way of being drafted in the first round (fourth overall) by the expansion Ducks as the franchise's first selection as a member of the league. He was coming off winning the Hobey Baker Award as the top U.S. collegiate player as a member of the University of Maine and would go on produce three 40+-goal seasons, including a 50-goal and 108-point campaign in 1995-96, in nine years with the Ducks. Before leaving for free agency to join Teemu Selanne with the Avalanche, Kariya helped guide the Ducks to their first-ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2003, where he scored a remarkable goal in Game 6 after recovering from a late, blindside hit to the head from New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens that saw him get knocked out and wake up on national television.




Kariya and Selanne failed to achieve their dream of winning the Stanley Cup in Colorado despite taking lower salaries in an attempt to form a super-team of sorts alongside Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. After the 2004-05 lockout, Kariya chose to join up with the Predators, where he made more money and rekindled some of his scoring touch with 31 markers - the first time since the 2001-02 season that he had reached the 30-goal plateau. After two years in Nashville, in which he helped the organization make the playoffs each season, Kariya signed with the Blues and closed out his career with them while suffering a few different injuries along the way.

Kariya is exactly a point-per-game producer with 989 points in 989 games played. He is also a mutli-time All Star with an Olympic Gold Medal as a member of Team Canada in 2002 and two Lady Byng Memorial Awards to his credit. But the debate begins as to whether he is a Hall of Fame, since the Stanley Cup eluded him and he doesn't really possess any other scoring titles. I'd give him the vote and I'm sure he will eventually find his place among the other hockey greats. He just might have to wait a few years to get the nod.

Either way, it's nice to see Kariya step aside when he knew the time was right and avoid suffering any further damage to his health. He had a bright career, will go down as one of the league's best offensive threats during his prime and should have no regrets about stepping aside after 15 truly entertaining seasons.

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.

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.