Trading a Hero

Sure there's going to be extra angst in Montreal today. That's extra, because when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful team in the history of hockey, angst is a daily reality no matter the circumstances.

But the trading of goalie Jaroslav Halak today to St. Louis for prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz is sure to cause dismay among those who saw in Halak this spring the next Ken Dryden or the next Patrick Roy, rather than the next Steve Penney.

The Habs, way back when, didn't deal Dryden right after he stunned the Boston Bruins in the '71 playoffs, did they?

Well, that was then is and this is now, a salary cap era in which tough decisions that don't necessarily have to do with the respective talents of players have to be made regularly. The Chicago Blackhawks are going to demonstrate that in the coming weeks as they are forced to partially dismantle a championship team that simply can't be kept together even if the cap, as expected, goes up by $2 million for next season.

With both Halak and Carey Price heading to free agency, the Habs just couldn't keep both. It would have meant that every night upwards of $3 million of valuable cap money would have been parked on the bench wearing a baseball cap rather than a mask.

There was no easy answer here for Habs GM Pierre Gauthier. Whether he kept both or traded either, there was going to be disagreement with his decision.

If anything, Habs fans should be pleased that he probably made the hardest choice by moving Halak given his terrific spring. Gauthier, if he's going to have a more successful run in Montreal than he did in Anaheim or Ottawa, needs to make exactly these types of hard decisions that will cause controversay in a hockey man city like Montreal.

This was a deal, you see, as much about the GM as the player being moved or the players being acquired. Gauthier made a tough choice that he knows will have a great deal of fallout in Montreal, and in doing so acquired young, cheap talent that the Habs needed.

Comments

[ramanaa]

this move takes gutsss.

this will definitely help out an already weak farm system with the habs. Moves like this should happen to players who are in contract years who you think are on 'fluke' runs and cant repeat production. Ex. Brian Mccabe, darcy tucker(who scored a chunck of his goals from one spot(. Trading these guys in their contract yrs, would have done wonders for the leafs...

sigh ..

[Justin Peters]

If that were the Leafs that made this move your tune would be different Damien.

[bill d]

I am still mystified by this trade. Halak was solid in the playoffs. Pricey has been shaky ever since he played in the rookie all-star game, a couple of seasons ago. My confidence in Price to play well is just not there. These two players Montreal has picked up are not going to have any impact for the club in the near future. Surely, they could have held off making a deal for Halak until the draft. I think a draft floor trade might have given Montreal more for their star goaltender. Right now, it appears Montreal is doing a salary dump and getting very little in return.

[OL]

stupid stupid stupid stupid. What a bad bad trade. Gauthier is a moron.

[Denis Gertler]

I read both articles on this topic and failed to find a solid rationale for the move. Perhaps Gauthier tried to shop Price and had no takers. The really gutsy move would be to keep both temporarily, showcasing Price just enough in certain games to bump up his value, then wait for a few goalie injuries to heighten demand. Then trade Price, definitely the lesser of the two goaltenders for at least one prospect or a pick. Note that tardes are not the only way to find less costly, younger players.

[Adam]

I'm not sure the move is evidence of guts. It may be quite the opposite. The fact is that Montreal as an organisation has an incredible amount invested in Price, and admitting that they were wrong about him would have been a far gutsier move. I'm not convinced this was anything except an attempt to say "We've been right about Price all along."

[Johnnyk]

How will the Habs play in front of Price? They had confidence in Halak but I doubt they have the same feeling about Price. Halak showed he could stand up to heavy pressure, can Price? He does seem to have some issues above the neck.

[M]

My first reaction, dumb. My second reaction, (as a leaf fan) was a smile. Price has not proven himself. Montreal fans had already turned on Price, now? He won't be able to walk down the street. Mtl management has set Price up to fail.

[Bam]

All things being equal Damien, do you think they would have traded Halak if he hailed from La Belle Province?

[David]

Moves like this suggest Gauthier aspires to be the Leafs GM - dump the best, keep the rest.

[Hugo]

Halak would not have signed with the Habs anyway. His agent was not pleased with the way he was "treated" last year. Halak wanted to be a first goalie, now he will be and he deserves it.

For those of you who can't read french I envy you because you can't read the freaked-out comments of the so-called Habs fans and of the Montreal medias in general.

It's just Halak for crying out loud!

Still happy I'm not a Leafs fan though...

Have a great day!

Go Habs Go!

[Bill S]

How is this a gutsy move?He just did what Gainey told him to do.

[other mark]

I don't follow the Habs religiously, but I tend to agree with the posters who aren't overly concerned about the move. No doubt, Halak had a stellar playoff. However, if you look at his career, he has never played over 45 games in the regular season. Of the 2, I would suggest Price will fair better (or at least as well) over a long season as a number one goalie. Add that to the fact that Price has a pedigree of success in Junior and AHL where the seasons are long and arduous and I don't see this as a terrible move, particularly if Schultz is as good a prospect as rumoured.

[conn smythe]

I would have thought that Halak would have fetched more on the open trade market based on his recent play - off. Still, I think this was a gutsy move (and I hate the Habs).

[Chris]

This is like Deja Vu of the Rask deal. I remember Leaf fans saying the same thing as some Habs fans: 'we can't keep em both', 'Pogge is just as good', 'Raycroft is a Calder trophy winner'. In the end Rask was the best player in the deal. In this case, Halak is easily the best player in the deal. Carey Price has issues dealing with pressure; imagine what will happen when he lets in a bad goal or has a string of bad games and hears "Halak would have had it" or "We traded the wrong guy" from the MOntreal media. Halak was the one and only reason the Habs made it past the first round let alone to the conference finals. This will be MOntreal's version of the Kessel deal; it will be debated for years to come.

[Kooky]

Lars Eller could have been a LEAF prospect. He's the 1st round pick we traded to SJ for Toskala. They flipped him to STL. He'll probably be a superstar given that history

[Owen]

Worst trade of the decade. I know this isn't just gonna be a fluke year and he has proven to be an amazing pressure performer. And now Gauthier's saying Price won't even be #1. I hope he gets fired in the next week.

[Jack Plant]

This completes the fall from grace of Les Habs. They have ceased to have any relation to the teams of the glory years. The organization is coming apart at the seams.

It's possible that Halak is overrated and will flop in St. Lou, Price will become a hall-of-fame goaltender, and Eller and Schulz will be all-stars. But is it proabable? Not a chance.

What's far more probable is that Halak shines, and the first time Price goes into a slump he gets booed until his already shakey confidence cracks. That's happened many times before in Montreal. Doesn't Gauthier know his own market?

Canadiens have traded their only player in the last 10 years who's good enough to carry them to the cup. And the chaos from the fallout of this trade will keep the Habs in the bottom half of their conference for 10 more long years. Too sad.

[Chris]

Hmmm let's just strike down a few points shall we. Carey Price played in 41 games last year winning 13 losing 20 and 5 OT losses (the math doesn't count relief appearances that did not affect the outcome of the game). Halak played 43 games winning 26, losing 15 and tying 5. Halak was a much better goalie even in the regular season. The playoffs need no comment. People love to talk about Price's pedigree because he won a World Junior and a Calder Cup. There was a guy who won the WHL MVP, WHL goalie of the year, CHL goalie of the year, won a World Junior Gold Medal with a 1.00 GAA and 3 shutouts. The team that drafted him believed in his pedigree just like Gauthier believes in Price. In fact, the team believed so much in his pedigree that they traded a guy who they knew was better to the Boston Bruins for another guy who had great pedigree. Fast forward three years and Justin Pogge's pedigree has landed him between the ECHL and AHL while Tuukka Rask is one of the best goalies in the NHL. The guy they traded for had a great pedigree too when he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year. Andrew Raycroft will likely be a backup goaltender for his fourth team in four years next year. This move sets Montreal so far back they'll be in lottery territory next year.

[Bruce Antonello]

Money enough to pay the incredible playoff disappearing man Plekanic $30 M over 6 but they can't keep a franchise goalie. Gauthier is Gainey's puppet. Stick by Price because you picked him fourth five years ago? Forgetaboutit!

[Big Swede]

Nothing "gutsy" about this move. Everyone it seems, except this reporter knew that Halak didn't want to play in Montreal anymore. Cheered one minute, booed the next. Who can blame him. Should be fun with Price though, a nutcase who couldn't stop a beachball!!