Confirmed with Link: Bruins sign Jaroslav Halak 2yr x 2.75

[bruinmann77]

I like the move and he can be a starter if something happens to rask

 

[McGarnagle]

Proposal

Halak, McQuaid, and 2rd rounder for Kucherov ole ole ole

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Hutton is being counted on as starter or at worst 1b.
CHI has huge question in goal with Crawford so capable back up is needed.
CAR has a hole in net, so Mrazek can easily become their starter.

None of those are good comps for a team has has a highpriced supposed elite goalie. I like Halak, and I don't mind the signing, but if Rask was what he's supposed to be, a cheaper goalie to play 15 games a year would be better.

I've come to believe that the problem with Rask is less that he can't handle the workload and more that he needs someone to push him or he loses that fire a little bit. not ideal for a 7 million, elite goalie, but that's what it is IMO.

 

[Thomas 11]

Not sure why all the hate for this signing. IMO this is a clear upgrade over Dobby(who I liked). Halak is way more stable, has far better career stats & can play for an extended period if Rask is injured. 52 games for Rask, 30 for Jaro. Nice 1-2 punch.

 

[PlayMakers]

It's foolhardy to say that all starters will respond well, both on and off the ice, to being pushed by a back-up. Ask some of Ed Belfour's back-ups how he responded to it. These guys often have pretty big egos.

I'm not saying all starters respond well to competition, I'm saying I think Rask responds well to competition, and I'm basing that off last year's bump from Dobby as well as all the years Rask and Thomas worked the crease together. Rask took the starter's job from Thomas in 2010 and Thomas took it back in 2011. Rask didn't have a Belfour-esque meltdown. In fact, he bounced back from it with a .929 in 2011-12.

Fact is, the NY Islanders allowed the most goals against in the NHL last year. And Halak was the guy in net for 2/3 of those games. Certainly their defensive play was a factor, clearly. But it's naive to believe that their struggles last year to keep the puck out of their net was solely on the team defensive play. Halak was a factor in that club finding the puck in the back of their net more than any other NHL team in 2017-18.

In 2006-07 the Bruins gave up the second most goals against in the league with Tim Thomas in net. He went .905 over 66 games that season. I made the mistake of judging him based on that season and was proven wrong. I'm much more cautious now about judging goalies based on how they do on teams in chaos.

You don't get the worst goals against in the league without catastrophic failures up and down the lineup. The Islanders gave up more shots than any team in the league, nearly 36 per game. I certainly don't think Halak is blameless for the Isles goals against, but he didn't exactly stink. A .908 in that situation is better than Thomas faired. The other goalie on the Isles played 27 games and had the highest GAA in the league (and an .892).

At the end of the day, you have to look at his body of work as well. Nearly 500 NHL games, and a career average of .916. He has 30 career playoff games under his belt and a .924 average in those games. Those are really solid numbers. That's the guy I think we're getting, and if he can stay healthy he should be a more competent and capable partner for Rask.

BTW, foolhardy AND naive? Your opinion of me must be very low. ;-)

 

[BruinDust]

I'm not saying all starters respond well to competition, I'm saying I think Rask responds well to competition, and I'm basing that off last year's bump from Dobby as well as all the years Rask and Thomas worked the crease together. Rask took the starter's job from Thomas in 2010 and Thomas took it back in 2011. Rask didn't have a Belfour-esque meltdown. In fact, he bounced back from it with a .929 in 2011-12.



In 2006-07 the Bruins gave up the second most goals against in the league with Tim Thomas in net. He went .905 over 66 games that season. I made the mistake of judging him based on that season and was proven wrong. I'm much more cautious now about judging goalies based on how they do on teams in chaos.

You don't get the worst goals against in the league without catastrophic failures up and down the lineup. The Islanders gave up more shots than any team in the league, nearly 36 per game. I certainly don't think Halak is blameless for the Isles goals against, but he didn't exactly stink. A .908 in that situation is better than Thomas faired. The other goalie on the Isles played 27 games and had the highest GAA in the league (and an .892).

At the end of the day, you have to look at his body of work as well. Nearly 500 NHL games, and a career average of .916. He has 30 career playoff games under his belt and a .924 average in those games. Those are really solid numbers. That's the guy I think we're getting, and if he can stay healthy he should be a more competent and capable partner for Rask.

BTW, foolhardy AND naive? Your opinion of me must be very low. ;-)

Yeah that was a bit much.

I don't dislike the signing, just thought it was a bit much how many claimed this to be an absolute upgrade. Funny thing is, when Khudobin was crapping the bed in 2016-17 in the Julien portion of the season, I'm sure I suggested dumping him for Halak who was I think on waivers.

I think a lot of post were thinking Halak was the guy he was 5-6 years ago. Even the year the Isles made the playoffs and won a round, he wasn't the guy.

I advocated the Bruins don't cheap out on a proven goaltender, and Halak is that. So I'm pretty content with this move. Sure beats going into the season with McIntyre as the back-up option.

 

[GloveSave1]

They were $150k apart it appears

Yeah...that’s kinda disappointing. There goes that narrative.

I liked Dobie...so I was prepared to reassure myself by being happy they brought in a goalie with good size.

Ehh. They’re both 5’10”. So much for that.

I guess I don’t really understand this move.

Seems like a lot of work to avoid just paying Dobie and being done with it.

Really feels lateral. Who knows? Maybe Halak will be better outside NY? But I’m not putting a tun of stock in that.

Maybe some egos got in the way of paying Dobie?

 

[PB37]

I thought something was brewing when I saw that Torey Krug 'liked' the post on twitter that stated Halak would be signing with one of two teams a couple of days ago.

I loved Doby, who as far as I'm concerned, reached a folk hero status with his unabashed love for Boston and his Timmy Thomas style of play.

But Halak is a better goaltender.

 

[DKH]

Proposal

Halak, McQuaid, and 2rd rounder for Kucherov ole ole ole

How will Kucherov 11 M fit next year In Tampa

 

[Alexei Yashvalev]

I think a lot of post were thinking Halak was the guy he was 5-6 years ago. Even the year the Isles made the playoffs and won a round, he wasn't the guy.

Halak was injured the year the Isles won a round. The year before in the playoffs he was the starter and had a .926 in 7 games against a pretty good Capitals team.

If you believe in goals saved above average, in the last four years Halak saved 31.51 goals more than the league average goaltender would facing the same shots/chances 5v5. That's near the top of the league. Source Goalie Stats - Corsica Hockey

He's actually pretty good. Wouldn't judge him by the disaster under Doug Weight on the island.

 

[Alicat]

Yeah...that’s kinda disappointing. There goes that narrative.

I liked Dobie...so I was prepared to reassure myself by being happy they brought in a goalie with good size.

Ehh. They’re both 5’10”. So much for that.

I guess I don’t really understand this move.

Seems like a lot of work to avoid just paying Dobie and being done with it.

Really feels lateral. Who knows? Maybe Halak will be better outside NY? But I’m not putting a tun of stock in that.

Maybe some egos got in the way of paying Dobie?

I honestly think that interview that was released was lost in translation.

I truly believe that his camp wanted Halak money or more but given Khudobin’s overall tenure here and numbers, the Bruins didn’t feel he was worth that money.

Halak’s Overall body of work is absolutely worth what he got and I wouldn’t be shocked to learn he left money on the table.

I also trust Mike Dunham’s input here as he worked with Halak the entire time he was on the Island.

At the end of the day, we are a better team with a Rask/Halak duo.

Tuukka will be challenged and he will also get quality rest especially down the stretch.

PB 37 is absolutely spot on with his comment about Dobby having a bit of a folk hero status here which I think is clouding people’s assessment of the deal (not directed at you btw).

I’m excited to see what he can do and I’m sure Z is thrilled to have a fellow countryman on the team .

 

[WJCJ]

The thing I remember most about Halak is that he Knocked Price out of the starting job for the playoffs(Price stunk) and he was huge, leading the habs to the conference finals.

I'm not expecting that from him but I think it is quite possible that he will be an upgrade on Khodobin. I like this signing.

 

[Gee Wally]

I liked Dobby ....but I also like this 'Plan B'.

Halak can be pretty good. Also Rask no longer has a NMC. Its now a modified NTC. He has to submit 8 teams he'd be willing to be traded to.
Not saying that will happen but we never know how a season will go.

 

[LouJersey]

Halak really isn't all that off from the numbers Rask has put up the past three seasons. he had a bad year last year behind an awful defense.

Rask

15-16 2.56gaa .915 sv .548qsv
16-17 2.23gaa .915 sv .492 qsv
17-18 2.36 gaa .917sv .566 qsv

halak

15-16 2.30gaa .919 sv .586 qsv
16-17 2.80gaa .915sv .538 qsv
17-18 3.19 gaa .908sv .449 qsv

 

[Glove Malfunction]

You can't ignore it nor can you use it as an excuse for Halak's awful numbers last year.

BD, you know I love your posts and think you've forgotten more about hockey than I know. But to say you can't take into consideration the difference in teams in front of a goalie is not very representative of reality. It has at least something to do with a goalies success or failures. You have to believe that if you put Halak in front of the Bruins' defense last year, his performance and numbers would have been improved over what they were in front of the isles' defense.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

DOBY got less then they gave Halak........BRUTAL......what a GM this guy is. Holy crap.

You have absolutely no idea (real stretch there) what Dobby was asking for from the Bruins. He may have been asking 2.9 and the bruins offered the same 2.75M they ended up giving to Halak (who is an improvement over Dobby IMO). So unless you were in the rooms when Dobby and his agent were talking with both the Bruins and the Stars, don't pretend to know how those negotiations went.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Hutton is being counted on as starter or at worst 1b.
CHI has huge question in goal with Crawford so capable back up is needed.
CAR has a hole in net, so Mrazek can easily become their starter.

None of those are good comps for a team has has a highpriced supposed elite goalie. I like Halak, and I don't mind the signing, but if Rask was what he's supposed to be, a cheaper goalie to play 15 games a year would be better.

So you're saying playing Rask 70 games a years is the best course of action? We ALL know how that'll turn out. The fact is the Bruins paid market price for a very capable backup.

 

[Alicat]

You have absolutely no idea (real stretch there) what Dobby was asking for from the Bruins. He may have been asking 2.9 and the bruins offered the same 2.75M they ended up giving to Halak (who is an improvement over Dobby IMO). So unless you were in the rooms when Dobby and his agent were talking with both the Bruins and the Stars, don't pretend to know how those negotiations went.

The voice of reason.

 

[KrejciMVP]

meh...that`s all I got

Seriously, 2.75 mill a year for Halak in 2018-2019? Wth

 

[TCB]

Halak Prepared for New Role With Bruins

Really Really like this signing and it looks like Halak is coming in with the right attitude. You can see he plans on coming in an push Tuukka.

"The decision came down to the term and…my family. I have two kids already, and Boston is a great city for family as well, living there. I think that was the main decision. Also, like I mentioned before, Boston has a great team, and they're always on the top of the standings, and I'm just looking forward to helping out."

"I'll try to help out any way I can," Halak said. "I'll try to fit in as soon as possible…I'm 33; I know Tuukka is a little younger than me. I'm just looking forward to being with him. I know he's an elite goalie, and he proved that every year. Every time I get the chance, I'll try to help out, and we'll see what happens."

 

[bob27]

So you're saying playing Rask 70 games a years is the best course of action? We ALL know how that'll turn out. The fact is the Bruins paid market price for a very capable backup.

Last time he played 70 games he had .922sv% which is fairly elite territory. I don't think there's any statistical backing that Rask can't handle higher work loads.

 

[Dr Hook]

Last time he played 70 games he had .922sv% which is fairly elite territory. I don't think there's any statistical backing that Rask can't handle higher work loads.

No there isn't, but what we do have is the coaching staff and Sweeney saying this. They work with the guy every day and if they say that keeping him at 55 games or so is ideal for his performance, especially to prepare for the playoffs, then that settles it for me. They would know better about this than I do, and so they signed someone that they believe can provide the relief for Rask as and when needed.

 

[JOKER 192]

Seriously, 2.75 mill a year for Halak in 2018-2019? Wth

Step back, Take a deep breath, Your better than that. I know you are.

 

[JOKER 192]

Halak Prepared for New Role With Bruins

Really Really like this signing and it looks like Halak is coming in with the right attitude. You can see he plans on coming in an push Tuukka.

"The decision came down to the term and…my family. I have two kids already, and Boston is a great city for family as well, living there. I think that was the main decision. Also, like I mentioned before, Boston has a great team, and they're always on the top of the standings, and I'm just looking forward to helping out."

"I'll try to help out any way I can," Halak said. "I'll try to fit in as soon as possible…I'm 33; I know Tuukka is a little younger than me. I'm just looking forward to being with him. I know he's an elite goalie, and he proved that every year. Every time I get the chance, I'll try to help out, and we'll see what happens."

How can you not embrace that, as a Bruins fan, that's all I need .

 

[KrejciMVP]

Step back, Take a deep breath, Your better than that. I know you are.

C'mon it's not 2010