Carey Price vs. Jaroslav Halak
The trade that shook the hockey world over the summer, was one that sent goaltender Jaroslav Halak and forward Matt D’Agostini to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Dustin Boyd. The controversial trade cemented Carey Price as the
Montreal Canadiens goaltender of the future.
Halak was deified in Montreal when he carried the club to the 2010 Conference Finals. The youngster was the story of the post-season, posting incredible numbers and keeping a Montreal team, which struggled at the offensive end, in the game on numerous occasions.
Halak won nine games for the Canadiens, earning a .923 save-percentage and 2.55 goals-against-average.
Nevertheless, in the off-season Montreal general manager Pierre Gautier elected to move Halak in favour of the slightly younger Price. Both goalies had expiring contracts and the team was forced into making a decision. Gautier was ridiculed all summer for
his decision to keep Price over the play-off hero. The controversy has created a goaltending competition between the two young net-minders, as fans have kept a close eye on both Price and Halak, either in the hopes of vindicating Price, or for the proof that
Halak is in fact is the better goalie.
However, at this point it is difficult to find much between the two young men. Both Price and Halak have had tremendous starts to the season and neither has shown signs of letting up.
Price was booed by the Montreal faithful in the first game of the pre-season, understandably as the 23-year-old struggled to find his form, but since that time Price has been nothing but impressive. Price has started every one of Montreal’s eight games this
season and boasts a 5-2-1 record with one shutout.
Halak’s story in St. Louis has gone similarly. The 25-year-old had a weak outing in his first pre-season game, but quickly settled in at the start of the regular season. Halak has started all but one game this season and has gone 4-1-1, also earning a shutout.
Moreover, the two net-minder’s teams find themselves in similar situations. The Canadiens have tallied eleven points this season and sit fourth in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, St. Louis has notched 10 points and sits sixth in the Western Conference,
but with one game in hand on Montreal.
The two goaltenders' records can be attributed to their overall play, as both have posted tremendous numbers early in the season. Price has managed a .918 save-percentage and 2.23 goals-against-average, while Halak has notched a .929 save-percentage and
a 1.81 goals-against-average.
The only thing that may be swinging the trade in the favour of the Blues is the poor play of both Eller and Boyd. The two forwards, the Canadiens received in return for Halak, have had particularly slow starts to the season. Eller has only managed one assists
this season and has earned a minus-one rating. Meanwhile, Boyd has not fared much better, with only one goal this season and a minus-two rating. The 24-year-old Boyd has also been a healthy scratch for two games this campaign.
Making matters worse for the Canadiens is that D’Agostini has tallied three points already, all of which are goals. The Ontario native also sports a plus-two rating and six penalty minutes.
Nevertheless, there is nothing Price can do about the play of both Eller and Boyd and instead has done a great job of improving his play. The native of Anaheim Lake British Columbia has done a fantastic job of staying at the top of his game despite the lack
of support he felt from Montreal fans early in the season.
The Canadiens will meet the Blues on 10 March in St. Louis for the first time since the trade.
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