Slovakian Netminder Drawing Lots of Attention
Following yesterday's extremely impressive performances by two of the NHL's best young goaltenders for their respective countries, word is starting to spread about how the Ducks made the right move in locking up their goalie of the future, Jonas Hiller, whereas thoughts are that the Montreal Canadiens may have waited too long and are in jeopardy of losing one of their goaltenders of the future, Jaroslav Halak.
Hiller has been phenomenal for Team Switzerland, scaring the US into a tight loss and literally freezing millions of Canadians into place as Jonas and the Swiss pushed Team Canada to the very brink of a loss. Unlike 4 years ago, when Martin Gerber stood on his head and shutout Team Canada in the Torino Games, this time around Switzerland has a legit #1 netminder. Knowing this has further boosted their team play and has truly made the nation of Switzerland one of the up and coming future Olympic and International players. Because of Hiller they will be a threat once the medal round begins.
And everyone believes, the Anaheim Ducks made the right move in locking up Hiller as their top puck-stopper.
The same cannot quite be said for the Montreal Canadiens and their current goalie dilemma.
Montreal is quite obviously in a different situation then the Ducks as they have 2 RFA netminders in Carey Price and Jaro Halak, both capable of being their #1 netminder of the future.
Anaheim desperately needed to shed the salary of former #1 JS Giguere, shipping him to Toronto for(now backup) Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake.
The deal was a necessity for Anaheim as they were certain that Hiller was their guy for the future and Giguere had run his course, having won a Cup and a Conn Smythe in two Finals appearances for Anaheim.
Montreal does not have the luxury of having a clear cut choice in picking between either of their young goaltenders, but with the way that Jaroslav Halak is playing in these Olympics, many people are starting to comment on the fact that it certainly looks like Halak is deserving of a similar reward to that awarded to Hiller by the Ducks.
But can Montreal keep Halak?
That has been the question for many months on end now and, with all of the agent fed controversies and debates between Price and Halak ultimately leading to a stalemate in choice, the Montreal Canadiens may simply be forced into moving one or the other for the best value possible.
The reality of this is that Jaroslav Halak's performance for Team Slovakia has further confirmed what many GM's in the NHL have felt, Jaroslav Halak is a #1 netminder and a bonafide starting netminder in the NHL.
Team Slovakia feels this way as well. They have never felt as confident during an Olympic competition as they do this time around and that should say alot about what Halak's real value is.
The bottom line now is that, with Halak's recent performances and continuous growth in value, he is slowly pricing himself out of the Montreal Canadiens range.
At the same time, it most certainly seem that his trade value is slowly, but surely, creeping through the roof.
Comparing and contrasting Jonas Hiller and Jaroslav Halak is leaving alot of scouts with similar opinions of the two young netminders. Both are solid between the pipes, have aggressive work ethics and appear to be poised to take on roles as starting goaltenders in the NHL for years to come.
The Ducks have locked up their man and made the neccessary adjustments to accomodate Jonas Hiller as their goaltender of the future.
Will Montreal be able to do the same?
Although heavily divided between Price and Halak, the reality is that the Canadiens may very well have no choice in moving one of them following the Olympic Break.
If, as many say, Halak is on his way to "Hiller-type" money, then the Montreal Canadiens may not be able to hang onto him.
On the flip side of that coin, if Jaro Halak is actually pricing himself out of the range of the Canadiens, then he is surely increasing his trade value. If that is the case, then chances are great that Jaroslav Halak may have played his last game as a Montreal Canadien.
It's a tough choice to make, but it's a choice that the Anaheim Ducks made and now Anaheim has a set plan in nets moving forward.
Montreal is desperately in need of similar stability, so with two young goaltenders competing for the top job on the Canadiens, there is a very strong chance that the one who out-performs the other may actually be on his way out.
Goaltending has been under the spotlight since the beginning of the year, but now, with the Olympics playing a role in that decision, expect the Habs to address this situation in the few days before the Trade deadline.
There is, of course, always the chance that Montreal will choose Halak over Price or, for that matter, wait until the end of the season to make a final decision. But, with Jaro pushing his value through the roof and Price being 2 years younger than the Slovakian netminder, chances are that the Habs will find a new home for their goaltender who has played his way into an expensive new contract.
That guy is Jaroslav Halak and he and his agent, with their expectations of Jonas Hiller type money, may be negotiating a new deal with an entirely new team in the very near future.
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