Montreal Canadiens: Breaking Down Carey Price vs Jaroslav Halak – The Verdict Is Finally In
By Suki Gill
With Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price on long term injured reserve and former Habs netminder Jaroslav Halak still without a contract for this season, the careers of the once star crossed goaltenders of the Canadiens appear to be all but over.
Halak was just brought in for a professional try out by the Carolina Hurricanes last week and could resurface in the NHL again at some point, but it will likely be as nothing more than a backup and spot starter.
So now seems as good a time as ever to re-litigate one of the great debates in recent Habs history, Price or Halak. In 2010, the two young netminders were at the center of a firestorm over which one of them the Canadiens should move forward with as the club’s franchise goaltender. Everybody had an opinion but now 13 years later perhaps we can settle the argument once and for all.
They say numbers never lie, but in this case I think perhaps they do. Price and Halak have near identical stats for career goals against average and career save percentage. Price is at 2.51 and .917 while Halak is at 2.50 and .915. Their career shutout totals are also pretty close with Halak holding a slight edge 53-49.
Price has much more gaudy totals in career games played with 712 to Halak’s 581. Consequently, career wins also heavily favor Price 361-295. Their regular season win percentage though is surprisingly the exact same at 50.7%.
Their playoff resumes further their statistical equivalence to a degree. Price has a record of 43-45 with a 2.39 GAA and .919 save percentage in 89 career playoff starts. In a smaller sample size, Halak had eerily similar results posting a 17-20 record with a 2.48 GAA and .919 save percentage in 37 career starts in the postseason. It should be noted though that Price also has 8 playoff shutouts to his name while Halak has none.
As we know statistics alone don’t tell the whole story. Judging a goaltender’s worth requires much more context.