Revisiting The Halak Trade

(Photo – Journal de Montreal newspaper cover in June 2010. The caption reads : The Fans Are Furious! Halak Sacrificed!) 

The Montreal Canadiens have begun 2012 in the best possible way: undefeated. In the first game of the 2012 calendar year, the game was marked by one of the young, emerging forwards of the organization. Lars Eller, 22, hailing from lovely Rodovre, Denmark, scored four goals (a natural hat trick and on a beautiful penalty shot) and notched one assist in a rather convincing 7-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

As Eller received a heartfelt ovation from a win-starved crowd of 21,273 spectators, I couldn’t help but reminisce about trade that brought him under the bright lights of the Bell Centre. The trade, much maligned at the time, has begun to bear fruit. It would be unfair to judge the trade based solely on tonight’s game, particularly when Ian Schultz has not yet played a regular season game with the Canadiens.

To date, Eller has scored 15 goals and 19 assists in 113 games. To be sure, they are not gaudy numbers by any stretch of the imagination. But a closer examination would indicate that Eller’s use in the Martin era was not in an offensive role. Stuck behind real #1 center, Tomas Plekanec and the man being paid like a #1 center, Scott Gomez, Eller was played mainly in a defensive assignment with an ever fluctuating set of line-mates. The growth of Eller can be seen in his assertiveness, both defensively and offensively. There have been many nights, both this season and the last, where Eller has been the best player on the ice, creating a high level of opportunities, but unable to cash in. In many ways, I would even go so far as to argue that he has made Andrei Kostitsyn a better player. Watching the growth of Eller, it becomes clear that the 6’2, 198 pound center is becoming a key part of the youth core of the team.

Now, Ian Schultz has not played a game yet for the Canadiens. He’s 6’1 and 179 pounds, bringing some much needed size to the team, but has only scored 8 points in 64 games. He’s projected to be mainly an energy winger, a commodity always in need, but he was definitely not the focal point of the trade.

The obvious centerpiece is Jaroslav Halak, hero of the 2010 playoffs for the Canadiens. His story has been told countless times, but he emerged as the starting goalie in the stretch run. He was probably the main reason, though Gill, Hamrlik, Gorges and Cammalleri played key roles, in the defeat of the odds on favorites: the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. His play raised questions about whether his services would be retained, particularly in light of his emergence as a fan favorite and the questions about Carey Price‘s ability to play in a high intensity market. As the Canadiens were eliminated in 5 games by the Philadelphia Flyers, the focus was shifted to which RFA goalie would be retained: playoff hero and fan favorite Halak or the inconsistent Price. We all know how this story ended, and on June 17th 2010, Pierre Gauthier traded Halak to the St. Louis Blues for two prospects, Eller and Schultz. Canadiens fans, pundits and experts pegged the trade as slanted heavily in favor of Halak and the Blues.

A year and a half later, this interpretation has lost some of its luster. Halak‘s stats in his last year with the Canadiens, 45 GP – 26W-13L, with a save percentage of .924 and a GAA of 2.40 has not been anywhere near replication with the Blues. In his first full season with the Blues, he ended with 57GP-27W-21L, but with only a .910 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA average. This season, with only 20 games and being outplayed by Brian Elliott (!!!) he is on pace for a .911 save percentage. The Blues may not have been a force yet, having not made the playoffs in the Halak era, but they have been consistently pegged by experts as a playoff team in a heavily contested Western conference.

Perhaps the most important return of the Halak trade is the revival of Carey Price as an elite goalie. Since the trade, Price has evolved into the #1 goalie that the Canadiens organization felt that the had the potential to become when their playoff hero and fan favorite was traded. Last season, Carey Price finished with 72GP-38W-28L and a .923 save percentage with a 2.35 GAA. This year, his statistics have regressed, but this is arguably more of a reflection of a difficult season across the board for the entire team.

We still may not know who the real winner of this trade is until all of the players involved have pursued their NHL/AHL careers, but to date, the Canadiens have benefitted from a trade widely considered to be a disaster.