Do people still believe Halak isn't a world class goalie?

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I mean, what's "world class"?

There are only ~25 spots for NHL goalies (technically there are 30, but 5 of those are probably looking to upgrade). If world class=NHL elite, then I would say no. Halak is not a top 8 NHL goaltender IMO.

If "world class" means elite in comparison to the rest of the world, then yes, as already said.

Pretty much this. I think he's obviously world class, in that he's not out of place on a world stage playing with the best in the world. But to me, the elite is the very best of them (the "best in the world"), so it's hard to put him up on quite that level.

 

[izzy]

He's an average starter, Blues didn't try to upgrade him for something to do

 

[Darth Milbury]

He's an average starter, Blues didn't try to upgrade him for something to do

I actually just thought that was a poor management decision. Halak was just OK with them but Miller didn't exactly set the league on fire either.

 

[Blind Gardien]

I think Halak is one of the 20 best goalies in the world. That's world class, right?

 

[Dbrownss]

I actually just thought that was a poor management decision. Halak was just OK with them but Miller didn't exactly set the league on fire either.

He had a great run with the Blues for the first 10-15 games. Then they had their injury fest and the **** hit the fan going into the POs

Miller's over aggressive play style was the problem, it didn't mesh with the Blues and the Blues like clockwork didn't have the offensive support.

In hindsight it was definitely a bad move.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Halak

Halak is very inconsistent.

He can look like a star for a few games, then have a horrible few games.

However, when you put a very strong team in front of him that spends most of the game in the other team's zone (NYI), sure, that masks some of Halak's weaknesses and clearly allows him to win more games. Still, a .910 SV% is nothing special as was pointed out here already.

He is an average #1. He made the All-Star game as a SUB and that is exactly how I see him...just below the elite goalies such as Price, Rinne, Lundqvist, Luongo, Rask, etc.

 

[BlueDream]

Not world class at all. He's won a lot of games because he plays for a good team, much like was the case in St. Louis.

Love how you think he's "proved all the critics wrong" even though his numbers are actually worse than what he did in STL. He hasn't proven anything, great thread though buddy.

 

[penguins2946*]

Hes far above just average. I would put him in the tier 2 of starters with the likes of Hiller, F. Anderson, Crawford, etc.

MAF is a very average goalie, but yet he gets 100 times the attention simply cause he plays for the Pens.

What are you talking about? A ton of people say Fleury sucks. Fleury and Halak are basically on the same level, but I give a little edge to Fleury based on this year.

 

[OzzyFan]

He's an average starter, Blues didn't try to upgrade him for something to do

I thought Allen was why they gave up on Halak? I mean, who thought they were actually going to pay Halak ufa market value to keep him? Nobody right?

I understand the Miller trade was for playoff stability, but they don't land Stastny and Miller in the offseason even if Miller was a good fit. It was a weird overemphasis on goaltending imo.

 

[IHaveNoCreativity]

To me, he hasn't shown anything that he's failed to show before. I think of him the same as I always have - he's a good NHL starter who can get hot and be unbeatable for periods. He was a monster in the playoffs that one year, and he hasn't got much of a chance to show his stuff in the postseason again since then. The only real knock on him is the lack of playoff experience outside that one year, but that can't be blamed squarely on him.

This.

I think he can take a team to a cup, was a great move by Snow to get him under contract.

 

[Chernobyl Mobile]

Halak isn't bad, but he's nothing spectacular with his current track record. But, I'm pretty sure any Isles fan would take him over DiPietro or Nabokov any day of the week.

 

[GOAT AINEC]

The Islanders are winning games because they are scoring a lot of goals not because of Halak. He is decent goalie and I am interested in seeing how he and the Isles perform in the playoffs where defense and goaltending is much more important.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

He did it with Montreal back when he had virtually zero experience...

Brent Johnson once took Blues to WCF

No one ever confused him with being a world class netminder

Halak is a good goalie but not world class. If Halak is world class then I guess that would make Crawford an elite nemtinder (Which he isn't)

 

[TheSilverSkeeter]

This.

I think he can take a team to a cup, was a great move by Snow to get him under contract.

It was a good move for the Islanders. Similar to the Blues' situation heading into 2010-11, they needed to stabilize the position, and they could have done a lot worse than signing a career-average goalie to a four-year deal.

And if he remains healthy, he's good enough to reliably backstop a team deep into the playoffs. But realistically, despite his brief history of doing so (2010), he isn't going to carry the Islanders on his own.

 

[TheSilverSkeeter]

Brent Johnson once took Blues to WCF

No one ever confused him with being a world class netminder

Halak is a good goalie but not world class. If Halak is world class then I guess that would make Crawford an elite nemtinder (Which he isn't)

It was Roman Turek in 2001. But the point still stands. ...

 

[anlongo13]

Halak is a good goalie. But world class is going too far. Besides his one good run with Montreal, he really hasn't done anything to validate the world class title.

Glad to see he is doing well in NY. Will be interesting to see if he holds up the rest of the year. It was really disappointing to see him get hurt when the playoffs came around.

 

[FLYLine27*]

A world class goalie is an elite goalie IMO, and he is not an elite goalie.

 

[Vipers31]

I'm trying to piece this together.

You're saying he's "far above average" as an NHL starter, which seems to me he must be at least top-10 (after all, #15 is precisely average).

So you're saying that your top-10 includes Halak, Hiller, F Anderson, and Crawford?

Meaning you have ALL 4 of those guys above EIGHT of Lundqvist, Rinne, Rask, Price, Luongo, Quick, C Anderson, Miller, Schneider, Bobrovsky, Varlamov, Holtby, Elliott and Howard?

Well done piecing that together, I was starting to wonder what a 2nd tier with Hiller & Co. as "far above average" would mean.

He's not far above average. He's, and in that I agree with OP, in a group with Hiller, but that's really not far above average.

 

[Matt Ress]

Yes.

 

[izzy]

I thought Allen was why they gave up on Halak? I mean, who thought they were actually going to pay Halak ufa market value to keep him? Nobody right?

I understand the Miller trade was for playoff stability, but they don't land Stastny and Miller in the offseason even if Miller was a good fit. It was a weird overemphasis on goaltending imo.

It doesn't matter though. Halak was leaving or Miller was leaving, it doesn't change the fact that the Blues tried to upgrade him. They didn't trade him for someone/something they'd be keeping

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Halak is very inconsistent.

He can look like a star for a few games, then have a horrible few games.

That's exactly NOT how his game logs look. It's actually pretty rare for him to have back-to-back "bad" games. Happens like, two maybe three times a year.

 

[KuemperTantrum]

Heatly scored 50 in 07, guess that means you guys should sign him as he has proven he can be a top goal scorer.

He choked away every playoff series on a much better blues team.

This is so wrong.

The guy played a total of 2 playoff games in St. Louis, both in the same year, and he played really well. Yeah, he really choked away every series, right?

 

[StLHokie]

Halak was always a streaky goaltender for the Blues. The tandem with Elliot did wonders for both goaltenders. I would have loved to see Halak stick around and not get tossed out in the Miller deal. But the issue is that he always had the most untimely injuries. Every single year the Blues were planning on making a push in the playoffs, Halak got hurt. That's really what messed up his reputation. He's the type of goaltender, that, if he gets hot, he can carry you very far in the playoffs. But getting hot at the right time was a matter of luck.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Halak was always a streaky goaltender for the Blues. The tandem with Elliot did wonders for both goaltenders. I would have loved to see Halak stick around and not get tossed out in the Miller deal. But the issue is that he always had the most untimely injuries. Every single year the Blues were planning on making a push in the playoffs, Halak got hurt. That's really what messed up his reputation. He's the type of goaltender, that, if he gets hot, he can carry you very far in the playoffs. But getting hot at the right time was a matter of luck.

Maybe luck with injuries, but not luck with skill/performance.

 

[RMimagery]

http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/seasons/last-4-nhl-seasons-goalies-stats.html

Virtually same numbers as Quick last 4 years. Five of the G's ahead of him have played less than 40 games over that span.

He's not world class but is in the top 10 among starters and for the new Isles, that's more than fine.