Jaroslav Halak Vs Lars Eller

[Mathradio]

Halak has never been more than a journeyman #1 goalie. He's very injury-prone, inconsistent from a season to another.

 

[habs03]

Halak is done, he simply can't be a number 1 goalie, he needs to be in a 1A/1B role.

Blues where probably looking to trade him this summer and it seems like they couldn't find a taker.

He is too small to handle a heavy workload, even during his playoff run, he would be AMAZING and then threw a few stinkers here and there.

Blues are unlikely to re-sign him, watch for him to get bounced around the league.

Gauthier best move, very few GM's would have kept Price over Halak, almost just based on the the media/fan reaction would be.

 

[rockjngo]

From what I heard, Trevor Timmins wanted Lars Eller badly at the 2007 draft.
Had Ryan Mcdonagh been drafted before #12, Timmins would have taken Eller.

Timmins had Mcdonagh, Eller, Pacioretty, Subban on his top 10 list. The others were Logan Couture, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Perron, Brandon Sutter, Brendan Smith, and Eric Tangradi.

 

[417]

Luongo has a terrible contract. Halak didn't.

There's your difference.

Obviously...his contract had a lot to do with it, but some teams were interested. But apparently the Canucks were looking for much more than what those teams were willing to pay

His contract and the fact very few teams are actively looking a goalie...made him near impossible to move

 

[habs03]

Whats really crazy is, now I don't know how legit it is, but I remember when Couture signed his contract ext this summer, on twitter one of the TSN 690 guys where talking about how Gauthier wanted Couture for Halak from the Sharks, Bob Mac said during the Halak trade that the Sharks where one of 4 teams to make into making a deal for Halak, (Tampa and Philly other 2 teams).

Supposely the Sharks didn't want to give Couture, but after hearing Mtl had a deal with the Blues had a deal in place, they were willing to give up Couture, but PG told Wilson that he had given his word to Armstrong already on the deal.

Now not sure how true it is, but still, both where similar players, Couture a little move proven.

Would have been sick to have Couture, even though I like Eller.

Makes you think, had PG waited maybe he could have gotten him, but the other side of it, is the closer it got to July 1st the more likely that those teams that want Halak would just sign him to an offersheet, and Mtl would be forced to either match, and have to trade Price, or let him go and get a 1st and 3rd round pick, how unlikely would have gotten the same value as Eller for say.

 

[Kriss E]

I think they do. Halak's been busted up but he's a good goalie and Hitch still considers him their starter. I still think it's win-win.

Well, despite what Hitch really believes, Halak hasn't proven that he's a capable #1 goalie. He just hasn't done it, and that's what Stl thought they were getting in Halak.
I think Halak has been a disappointment for them, while Eller has been developing very nicely with us.
I don't view it as a win-win. It's not a terrible trade, but we got the better player IMO.

 

[onemorecup*]

Exactly for a basically unproven goalie for a great prospect and I can almost guarantee that St. Louis would NOT make that trade today.

That being said I am a huge halak fan still have his jersey and wear it to the bell centre sometimes(when I'm not wearing subban). What halak did for us will never be forgotten by this city hopefully he can stay healthy and grab the number 1 spot in St. Louis.

Excellent post

 

[Whitesnake]

Well judging that IN HINDSIGHT ('cause it's not because we win a trade that it's not hindsight, so would you have traded Halak now is impossible to judg...), yes, as of now, it looks extremely good. Halak has not been up to par mostly because of injuries and Eller has shown progression. We'll see though 'cause both of their careers have not done, Eller still needs to progress, and Halak needs to reaffirm himself as a #1. Pretty sure both players aren't done though.

 

[MasterDecoy]

And Halak was the hottest thing since sliced bread at the time. Luongo isn't.

I DONT KNOW MAN! sliced bread taste pretty awesome AND it delivers every morning... ... ... ... ... get it?

 

[Teufelsdreck]

This thread belongs in the Theater of the Absurd. There was no way the Habs could have retained both Halak and Price. Not only couldn't they afford it but 1) Halak's agent made it known that his player demanded to be #1 and 2) Halak would have bolted to Europe if he didn't get his way. Gauthier made the right decision in seeing Price's greater value, not least of which he's capable of playing more games per season. I would be pessimistic about the Habs' future if he had decided the other way. They'd still be looking for a #1 goaltender. Halak the Magic Slovak fell to earth in St. Louis, where he isn't even the #1.

 

[Rickkins]

Price absolutely flourished with the job handed to him on the silver platter, he was fantastic and we have never had to look back on that side of it.

Quite possibly the most absurd statement I've ever heard.

 

[Whitesnake]

This thread belongs in the Theater of the Absurd. There was no way the Habs could have retained both Halak and Price. Not only couldn't they afford it but 1) Halak's agent made it known that his player demanded to be #1 and 2) Halak would have bolted to Europe if he didn't get his way. Gauthier made the right decision in seeing Price's greater value, not least of which he's capable of playing more games per season. I would be pessimistic about the Habs' future if he had decided the other way. They'd still be looking for a #1 goaltender. Halak the Magic Slovak fell to earth in St. Louis, where he isn't even the #1.

As far as I'm concerned, right now, Price isn't totally out of being chased from Montreal. So not sure we can say that the right choice is made yet as this year is a really determinant year for him and since Halak is gone, we haven't won a whole lot of series in the playoffs with Price. Now, we also have to admit that Halak wasn't lucky with injuries. Strangely, some will say that it's because we already knew he'd be injury prone 'cause of his size, yet, when we have our injuries, it's purely bad luck....Did the deal look good right now? Yes, it does, Eller establishing himself like maybe a top 6 in the near future, and Halak looking to regain his #1 from not that good of a goalie in Elliott and might be surpassed by a rookie. So everything still needs to be seen though. Only takes one other average year by Price...a Eller not able to rack up the points and Halak coming back to form and we start another thread. But as of now, good trade.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

What does this have to do with Eller's value? Perron has no bearing on what Eller's trade value is. I don't see how we were lucky he progressed, he was highly rated and was progressing nicely at the time of the trade. It's not like he was struggling and we were trying to get him back on track. He was on a good development curve.

If you think Eller is not even worth a mid-1st your out of your mind. He's worth so much more than that on the trade market right now.

Maybe not is (which is why I included recent examples of trades anyway), but certainly was. If it was Perron in the AHL while Eller was scoring 50 points in the NHL, it's more likely him we end up with instead. But it didn't happen that way, and it doesn't matter now, except that in the strictest of terms, Perron's and Halak's values as RFAs @ $3.7-3.8 million is a 1st and a 3rd round pick. Eller as an RFA @ $1.3 million is valued at a 3rd round pick. I also don't think offering just one player like Eller would have been enough to get Schneider out of Vancouver straight up, so it's hard to say that Eller's value is more than a 9th overall, let alone "much more".

But I totally agree that what his value will/could be is much higher, as he continues to progress and shows no signs of plateauing quite yet. That's my point about the "being close enough to worth it 3 years later". If it's me I try to hold onto both goalies for one more year (the whole "one of them is going to/has to be forced out NOW" was something created by paranoid Price fans - see below) and/or shop Halak around more than a day or so, but that's not to say I'm unhappy with the type of player that Eller is becoming. I'm ecstatic that there's someone else who seems able to play the game down the middle like Plekanec does, and it looks like he's coming into this season ready to bang.

There was no way the Habs could have retained both Halak and Price. Not only couldn't they afford it but 1) Halak's agent made it known that his player demanded to be #1 and 2) Halak would have bolted to Europe if he didn't get his way.

lol.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Quite possibly the most absurd statement I've ever heard.

Yeah, I don't think so. Price has been pretty wicked for us dude. Bad stretch last year for about five or ten games but that's about it. We just don't protect him enough.

 

[rockjngo]

Whats really crazy is, now I don't know how legit it is, but I remember when Couture signed his contract ext this summer, on twitter one of the TSN 690 guys where talking about how Gauthier wanted Couture for Halak from the Sharks, Bob Mac said during the Halak trade that the Sharks where one of 4 teams to make into making a deal for Halak, (Tampa and Philly other 2 teams).

Supposely the Sharks didn't want to give Couture, but after hearing Mtl had a deal with the Blues had a deal in place, they were willing to give up Couture, but PG told Wilson that he had given his word to Armstrong already on the deal.

Now not sure how true it is, but still, both where similar players, Couture a little move proven.

Would have been sick to have Couture, even though I like Eller.

Makes you think, had PG waited maybe he could have gotten him, but the other side of it, is the closer it got to July 1st the more likely that those teams that want Halak would just sign him to an offersheet, and Mtl would be forced to either match, and have to trade Price, or let him go and get a 1st and 3rd round pick, how unlikely would have gotten the same value as Eller for say.

For sure, SJ was one of the front runners for Halak as Nabokov left town. Timmins missed out on Couture in the 2007 draft and still high on him. PG tried to pull Halak and a draft pick. SJ said no, so PG went with his second choice Eller (who was also high on Timmin's list). SJ then went out and got Antti Niemi whom Chicago walked away from arbitration. Ironically, St Louis traded #9 overall pick (Logan Couture) to SJ for #13 (Lars Eller) and 2nd round pick (Aaron Palushaj) both of whom is/was part of the Habs.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Yeah, I don't think so. Price has been pretty wicked for us dude. Bad stretch last year for about five or ten games but that's about it. We just don't protect him enough.

No...he was right. It was an absurd statement. Price has not been "wicked".

 

[HABS win CUPS*]

Can you imagine having the option last playoffs to goto Halak on the bench when Price was clearly struggling a bit? I love Price anways, just saying that conference final Halak took us to was fing insane

 

[otto bond]

Can you imagine having the option last playoffs to goto Halak on the bench when Price was clearly struggling a bit? I love Price anways, just saying that conference final Halak took us to was fing insane

Halak was solid until we met the Flyers.

 

[Sorinth]

Maybe not is (which is why I included recent examples of trades anyway), but certainly was. If it was Perron in the AHL while Eller was scoring 50 points in the NHL, it's more likely him we end up with instead. But it didn't happen that way, and it doesn't matter now, except that in the strictest of terms, Perron's and Halak's values as RFAs @ $3.7-3.8 million is a 1st and a 3rd round pick. Eller as an RFA @ $1.3 million is valued at a 3rd round pick. I also don't think offering just one player like Eller would have been enough to get Schneider out of Vancouver straight up, so it's hard to say that Eller's value is more than a 9th overall, let alone "much more".

But I totally agree that what his value will/could be is much higher, as he continues to progress and shows no signs of plateauing quite yet. That's my point about the "being close enough to worth it 3 years later". If it's me I try to hold onto both goalies for one more year (the whole "one of them is going to/has to be forced out NOW" was something created by paranoid Price fans - see below) and/or shop Halak around more than a day or so, but that's not to say I'm unhappy with the type of player that Eller is becoming. I'm ecstatic that there's someone else who seems able to play the game down the middle like Plekanec does, and it looks like he's coming into this season ready to bang.

I have no idea what your talking about with Perron. Eller's value was that of a recent 13th overall, who was progressing nicely. Perron doesn't factor into it at all.

Vancouver has 2 centers better than Eller so they probably aren't looking for a center like him. But Eller's 30 points in 46 games is a 53pt pace. If you don't believe a 24 year old 6'2 center who can put up 50+ pts with hardly any PP time, and less than 15min a game who also happens to be good defensively isn't worth a 9th overall pick let alone a goalie who 9 years after being drafted has never played more than 33 games in a season I don't know what to say.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

No...he was right. It was an absurd statement. Price has not been "wicked".

Since Halak left... He's been wicked dude. Great season right after he left. Was good behind an awful team. And last year (like I said) he was great for most of the year before his slide. We didn't hear anything negative until his slide and then everyone flipped on him.

He's been wicked. Not perfect. And whether you disagree or not, that statement was far from absurd.

And we don't do nearly enough to protect this guy.

 

[Agnostic]

Since Halak left... He's been wicked dude. Great season right after he left. Was good behind an awful team. And last year (like I said) he was great for most of the year before his slide. We didn't hear anything negative until his slide and then everyone flipped on him.

He's been wicked. Not perfect.

And we don't do nearly enough to protect this guy.

Please stop the head in the sand thing is cutting off your oxygen supply.

 

[MXD]

I have no idea what your talking about with Perron. Eller's value was that of a recent 13th overall, who was progressing nicely. Perron doesn't factor into it at all.

Vancouver has 2 centers better than Eller so they probably aren't looking for a center like him. But Eller's 30 points in 46 games is a 53pt pace. If you don't believe a 24 year old 6'2 center who can put up 50+ pts with hardly any PP time, and less than 15min a game who also happens to be good defensively isn't worth a 9th overall pick let alone a goalie who 9 years after being drafted has never played more than 33 games in a season I don't know what to say.

...that looks a lot like the Schneider / Horvat deal.

 

[Mathradio]

Halak is done, he simply can't be a number 1 goalie, he needs to be in a 1A/1B role.

Blues where probably looking to trade him this summer and it seems like they couldn't find a taker.

He is too small to handle a heavy workload, even during his playoff run, he would be AMAZING and then threw a few stinkers here and there.

Blues are unlikely to re-sign him, watch for him to get bounced around the league.

Gauthier best move, very few GM's would have kept Price over Halak, almost just based on the the media/fan reaction would be.

A journeyman #1 goalie is one that I can best describe as a goalie that plays his best hockey in an 1A/1B role...

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I have no idea what your talking about with Perron. Eller's value was that of a recent 13th overall, who was progressing nicely. Perron doesn't factor into it at all.

Vancouver has 2 centers better than Eller so they probably aren't looking for a center like him. But Eller's 30 points in 46 games is a 53pt pace. If you don't believe a 24 year old 6'2 center who can put up 50+ pts with hardly any PP time, and less than 15min a game who also happens to be good defensively isn't worth a 9th overall pick let alone a goalie who 9 years after being drafted has never played more than 33 games in a season I don't know what to say.

And that bolded part really impacted the relevance of everything to follow...

 

[AcadiaAxeMan]

Eller is a stud and ONLY getting better = he is faster and a beast on the puck possession game and uses his body well - he is a better skilled version of Jason Arnott with more point potential/season IMHO ...... bring it on! Perfect 2nd line center (next year)!!