Montreal Canadiens fans outraged over goaltender Jaroslav Halak trade
Montreal Canadiens fans expressed shock and outrage Thursday after the team announced it had traded goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues. The news quickly made the list of popular topics on the popular microblogging site Twitter, as fans commented and largely described their surprise.
Outside the Bell Centre in Montreal dismay over the trade was widespread, given that Halak is largely credited with handing the Canadiens’ their best playoff run in nearly two decades. There was even reaction from two Quebec Liberal MPs, commenting on the deal on their twitter pages. Justin Trudeau wrote: “What? Halak for two hockey sticks and a bag of magic beans…I miss Bob,” he mused, referring to former Habs GM Bab Gainey.
Halak, 25, was granted the status of a hero by fans and media when the Canadiens made it to the Eastern Conference final in the 2010 NHL playoffs. They were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I played more and more and got more respect from the organization and the coach too,” Halak said. “The only was to do it is to get a chance and win games and that’s what I was trying to do.”
On the trade, he said: “When I got the news, I was obviously surprised. I’m very happy to be part of a new organization, and very excited about a new start.”
The news comes as a definitive suggestion that Montrealers have settled the long-running debate about who will be their number one goaltender, preferring the 22 year old Carey Price to the older Halak.
Habs’ general manager Pierre Gauthier acknowledged that many were upset by the trade, but said “we’re looking into the future. In the big picture of things, going forward, we feel very comfortable with having done this.”
For the trade the Canadiens receive Lars Eller, the 13th round pick in the 2007 draft, and rough-hewn Calgary Hitman winger Ian Schultz, both of whom presumably meet Gauther’s guidelines of what qualifies for success in the future for the Habs.
Citing the Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, Gauthier said the new Habs paradigm involves piling up cheap, young talent that guarantees higher-priced pieces later on. The philosophy explains why he didn’t insist on a current roster player in the bidding. The Canadiens acquired two players for what Halak was roughly worth last season, and the trade is being seen as the best they could for in a year ripe with free-agent goaltenders.
“That’s the type of maneuvering we have to do with this new cap system,” Gauthier reflected. “And to acquire good young players who will play for you under their entry-level contracts, that becomes very important. You look at players and how good they’re going to get. You can get established players, but you can also get them in unrestricted free agency on July 1st.”
True, of course. But many are still bewildered by a logic that seems to make little sense in the present. It is well known that Halak became something of a savior in the playoffs for Habs fans, stepping up and shoring the burdens of a faulty Price, and the idea of trading him comes off to many as obscene.
Some argue the trade was a long time coming, given tension between Halak and Price. Halak was demonstrably unhappy about playing backup for the Habs, and the trade to St. Louis offers him an opportunity to get more playing time.
Whatever the reason, Gauthier will have a hard time convincing Habs fans that this was a move in their best interests, especially if the players’ gained do not perform.
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