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It’s actually understandable, since he had the pedigree as the fifth overall pick in 2005. He was bigger, at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, and he won everywhere he went. Meanwhile, Halak was a ninth-round prospect in the 2003 draft, two years older and with a much smaller frame at 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds.
The trade
Around noon on June 17, 2010, the deal was announced. RFA’s Slovak goalkeeper was sent out of town. GM Pierre Gauthier at least decided to send him west and he went to the St. Louis Blues for former first-round center and thirteenth overall pick Lars Eller and right wing Ian Schultz.
The fandom was immediately thrown into turmoil. Who was that Danish player? Was he good? How dare Gauthier trade the man who took them so far in the playoffs!
The consequences
Just over two weeks after the trade, the Blues signed Halak to a new four-year contract with an AAV of $3,750,000. Days before the trade deadline, before his contract expired, the Blues traded their goalie to the Buffalo Sabers for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott. However, he wouldn’t stay in Buffalo long, as he was traded to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla. In early May 2014, the Caps traded him to the New York Islanders as Halak did not intend to sign a new deal with them.
Even with all these rebounds in a short space of time, Halak still had a very good NHL career, playing 581 games with a record of 295-189-69, a 2.50 goals-against average, and a .915 save percentage. . Meanwhile, Price, the Montreal draft pick, played in 712 games with a 361-261-79 record, 2.51 GAA and .917 SP. If fans were up in arms after the trade, they quickly calmed down when the BC native lived up to expectations.
As for the return the Canadiens got for Halak, it wasn’t as bad as initially feared. It’s true that Ian Schultz never played a single game in the NHL and ended his career in the British Elite League (the name being the only elite thing about that circuit, having lived in London and being British, I can say that) in 2016-2017.
Meanwhile, Lars Eller played 435 games in Montreal over six seasons, tallying 154 points and proving to be an efficient two-way center. However, many failed to appreciate him for what he was, believing that trading Halak should have netted them a much more productive player.
Marc Bergevin traded Eller to the Capitals for two second-round picks (in the 2017 and 2018 drafts) on June 24, 2016, five days before releasing a certain blueliner to the Nashville Predators for another defenseman. It was a busy few days in Montreal.
The Dane would spend the next seven seasons in Washington, scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal for Barry Trotz’s men against the Vegas Golden Knights. If it weren’t for Eller, the Knights might have won Lord Stanley’s mug in their first year of existence… who knew.
While many Canadiens fans were ready to label this one of the worst trades in team history, it has aged very well…unlike another Montreal goalie trade that the city remembers all too well.
Related: Canadiens: Tremblay lit the match, Houle was taken for a ride…
Related
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Canadiens: Let’s go all-in on the Centennial
Canadiens: It worked once, let’s bring it back
Canadiens: Houle was shark bait
Canadiens: taxi for being too chatty
Canadiens: the trade that went backwards
Canadiens: Out with the young, in with the old
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