All things HALAK

[rafikz]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/stor...&id=3290338

OOps

There's already a thread on Halak....sorry

Moderators please merge

[Fat Tony]

Yeah! Like drafting some goalie fifth overall, and ignoring the next Lemieux, Angelo Esposito.

Seriously, who does that?

Yawn

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Regarding Halak. It's nice to have him as backup. Next season, I'd like to see a to 47GP Price - 35GP Halak platoon. At least Halak gets many starts and Price gets about 58% of the starts. Based on this math (which is possible IMO) it's likely Halak will play 2 or 3 more games before the end of the season.

Halak is awesome and hopefully we can keep him as long as possible. However, I seriously doubt he dethrones Price in the long run. The only way that happens is if Carey is a bust and based on what I have seen of him this year, IMO that's HIGHLY unlikely to happen.

I loved the Price pick. IMO, at the time (and my opinion hasn't changed) when they drafted Price I thought, "What if this goalie doesn't work? Well, at least we will have a bomb ace of spades tradable asset".

I wonder if LA would trade Kopitar for Price?

Halak is awesome :hlogo:

Edited March 19, 2008 by Athlétique.Canadien

[Fat Tony]

Regarding Halak. It's nice to have him as backup. Next season, I'd like to see a to 47GP Price - 35GP Halak platoon. At least Halak gets many starts and Price gets about 58% of the starts. Based on this math (which is possible IMO) it's likely Halak will play 2 or 3 more games before the end of the season.

Halak is awesome and hopefully we can keep him as long as possible. However, I seriously doubt he dethrones Price in the long run. The only way that happens is if Carey is a bust and based on what I have seen of him this year, IMO that's HIGHLY unlikely to happen.

I loved the Price pick. IMO, at the time (and my opinion hasn't changed) when they drafted Price I thought, "What if this goalie doesn't work? Well, at least we will have a bomb ace of spades tradable asset".

I wonder if LA would trade Kopitar for Price?

Halak is awesome :hlogo:

Halak may actually be too good to keep. He has starter written all over him, but not in Montreal. He's an RFA next season and is obviously going to want more money. Price is making 1.8 mil this year (with bonus), and for the next 2 years. Halak is making 1/2 mil. He will obviously want a raise, but how much can we offer him without offending Price? If he goes for 2 years at 1 mil per, that would work...but there's 6 or 7 teams out there desperate for a break out starter that may throw 2 or 3 mil at him just at the chance that he's an elite starter. To me, this is where playing Halak too much this year could work against us. I think there's a really good chance Yann Danis could be our backup next year

Edited March 19, 2008 by Fat Tony

[Neech]

People seem way too sold on Halak already. He's been good in his whopping 3 starts this year, against some of the worst teams in the league. He was good last year in a limited stretch. There's not enough proof to show that he'll be anything more than a journeyman goalie. I think he can be a good starter, though.

We'll probably sign him to a two year deal at 1-2 million per year, a decent raise. He'll get good action as a backup, 20-30 games if Price is healthy (I doubt we'll be working Price into the ground).

[smon]

there's 6 or 7 teams out there desperate for a break out starter that may throw 2 or 3 mil at him just at the chance that he's an elite starter.

You're getting way ahead of yourself here. Halak's played only a handful of NHL games this year. No team is that desperate for him that they will be giving up a 1st round pick like Lowe did for Penner.

He's a good goalie though, absolutely. But 6 or 7 teams lining up to poach him is a bit much at this point in his career.

[Fat Tony]

You're getting way ahead of yourself here. Halak's played only a handful of NHL games this year. No team is that desperate for him that they will be giving up a 1st round pick like Lowe did for Penner.

He's a good goalie though, absolutely. But 6 or 7 teams lining up to poach him is a bit much at this point in his career.

You underestimate the desperation of some GM's. I know he's done very little in the NHL, but he's shown he can play in the NHL and he was the best goalie in the AHL for most of this year. So while I will agree that I may be overestimating him at present, you guys may be underestimating his potential...lets meet in the middle, somewhere with cold beer preferably

[Easy Ryder]

If they traded Huet to make room for Price and Halak i don't think

it is in their plan to unload Jaro in a trade or not signing him to his value market

when he will be RFA.

It is not in the plan to trade either one, like it has never been in the plan to trade

Higgins, but every team that Bob want to deal with had Higgins on the top of the list

and with the depth on the wings, Bob gave it a good thought.

A Plan can be changed if they're are some intangibles happenings.

And we have our handful of intangibles , now and even more(Halak, Streit, Gorges, S.Kost, Grabovski)in the future( Weber, Subban more and more surprise to come)

All of these lead to speculation on long term but right now it's riding to the playoff 2008 with

two of the better young goalies in the world.

[brobin]

Yeah! Like drafting some goalie fifth overall, and ignoring the next Lemieux, Angelo Esposito.

Seriously, who does that?

LOL,,,.

Lemieux didn't get cut 3 years in row from the jr. team.

[TheAussiePosse]

From the ever-reliable Spector's:

Garrioch wonders if a rival team seeking goaltending depth might make a pitch for Montreal's Jaroslav Halak, who's a restricted free agent this summer.

SPECTOR'S NOTE: It's a good possibility, given the lack of goaltending depth available in this summer's UFA pool as Garrioch indicates. That being said, Habs GM Bob Gainey has a tendency to lock up his free agents as early as possible, and if he wants to retain Halak he could have him re-signed before July 1st. Then again, if Halak and his agent believe he has no chance of seeing more playing time behind Carey Price, they could forestall Gainey in hopes of attracting an offer sheet from a rival team.

To be honest, I'd say yes to any offer, especially as they'd be paying him a few million, which could get us anywhere from a 1st and a 3rd upwards:

If the offer is $1 to $2 million, compensation is one second round pick

If the offer is $2 to $3 million, compensation is one 1st and one 3rd round pick

If the offer is $3 to $4 million, compensation is one 1st, one 2nd and one 3rd round pick

If the offer is $4 to $5 million, compensation is two 1sts, one 2nd and one 3rd round pick

If the offer is over $5 million, compensation is four 1st round picks

But losing Halak and Danis (who's a UFA this summer also and could likely try the open market) will really give our goalie depth a hit. Our next prospect is ... Loic Lacasse, who is not ready to lead an AHL team, let alone be an NHL back-up. So there would probably be a few UFA goalies we bring in to back up Price (if Halak goes) and help our AHL roster.

So thoughts?

- Is Halak likely to get RFA offers?

- If so, would he be likely to accept one?

- Which teams might target him?

- What are our options if Halak goes?

- Will Danis stick around now that the Bulldogs are his team only, or do you think he's likely to be scooped up somewhere else?

(Here is a link for a list of upcoming UFA goalies this summer - I count four ex-Habs)

[KoZed]

Too many teams are deep in nets to go after Halak as a RFA.

[Neech]

I doubt teams will be ready to trade high draft picks for Halak, he's still an unproven commodity. He'll get a raise next year - 1-2 million per year - and he's all but guaranteed a spot with the NHL club in October. As a backup behind a 21-year-old, he'll likely get 25-30 games on the year, and more if Price hits a rough patch/gets injured. Not many teams want to have a 23-year-old as their starter, that's enough of a risk, and adding the draft picks is too much. If Halak has the talent to be a number 1 goalie, and he believes he does, next season with the Habs will be a big step in getting there.

[TheAussiePosse]

Colorado is weak in net, especially if Theodore leaves this summer (which he might, although the loss isn't that great). Buffalo, meanwhile, will probably lose Miller (word is to Detroit) in the coming year, and would have the funds to do to us what Edmonton tried to to do them with Vanek.

[Fat Tony]

If we lose Halak, and I believe it's very possible, we could give Danis a shot at backing up Price and go with Desjardins & Locasse in Hamilton. If we lose both Halak and Danis (I can't see where Danis would sign with his limited exposure) maybe we can re-acquire Mike Leighton

Halak will be a tough one, he wants to be a starter and if it's not happening in Montreal he'll want to look around for sure. There's a handful of teams that may gamble on him just under 2 mill in my opinion and I just don't see Bob paying that for him...but ya never know, Price is locked up cheap for 3 years so Bobby may offer Halak 1.5-1.8 (but no more than Price's 1.8).

[The-Habby2919]

From the UFA list if Halak leaves.......hmmm.

Cristobal Huet?

JK, probably Conklin would be a suitable backup.

:hlogo:

[Neech]

Colorado is weak in net, especially if Theodore leaves this summer (which he might, although the loss isn't that great). Buffalo, meanwhile, will probably lose Miller (word is to Detroit) in the coming year, and would have the funds to do to us what Edmonton tried to to do them with Vanek.

Yeah, there are teams weak in net, but they probably wouldn't be willing to part with high draft picks for an unproven goalie.

I think Colorado will keep Theodore.

[Tony]

Sorry guys. No one will make an offer sheet to an unproven goalie who has played only 21 NHL games.

[MFT77]

The way I see it if someone offers 1-2 million, worth a 2nd rounder, BG will match.

2-3 million nets a 1st and 3rd rounder, BG may match, but would be a good return if somebody really wants Halak.

Any more is highly unlikely.

Really, a can't lose proposition. Nothing wrong with the high draft picks, if the unlikely happens.

[mathieu30]

JK, probably Conklin would be a suitable backup.

You're joking to pick up Conklin, right?

[TheAussiePosse]

You're joking to pick up Conklin, right?

Who else would you prefer?

Conklin's been a stellar back-up goalie in Pittsburgh, who are not known for an air-tight defence. I'd prefer him to an unproven Danis.

[saskhab]

People are going crazy about the potential for RFA offer sheets. GM's are running scared signing young guys to ridiculous contracts (hello, Matt Carle).

The market for Halak as a RFA will be small.... and unless he takes over as starter from Price in the post-season, his contract demands will be relatively modest. It's much more likely to lose him to Russia than it is to lose him to another NHL team.

[JMMR]

I am with the majority here thinking Halak would not get much as an RFA as of right now.

Also I expected he is signed sometime in mid june,

[Pierre the Great]

Halak stays if he knows what's good for him. Then again he won't because he doesn't know what's good for him.

worst case scenario for Halak aka a guarantee that he bolts.

Habs win the Stanley Cup, price is MVP, becomes a saint. Halak then becomes the Drew Bledsoe of the Habs.

I dunno about you, an extra couple mil to sit on the bench sounds awesome. Plus the NHL is becoming like the NFL in that you need solid backups who can start somewhere. aka 1a 1b.

Only a couple teams in the league (Vancouver and NJ basically) don't follow this formula.

[MAK]

If a team is foolish enough to make him a great offer sheet, then let him go and and we'll take the draft picks...of course i'd be ticked off because halak is a valuable goalie.

however in montreal it'll be price for a long time and halak's coiuld be highest come this summer. besides, good 2nd fiddlers are dime a dozen in this league.

that being said, montreal just need to have him signed by july 1st and none of this will happen.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

If Price falters and Halak takes us on a deep run I could understand this thread. If Halak was responsible for our great season, I would understand this thread. He hasn't. We Habs fans know he has great potential and will be a fine goalie but he is RFA. He can't use that to leave the team even if he wanted to, and no team in the league is coming after him. He hasn't done anything yet, except show potential. I would be more concerned about Andrei. He is the type of player that a team might come after and we should worry about dirty GM's dangling stupid money in front of him, but Halak? Come on guys, this is a pointless concern.