Halak to St. Louis

Learned from ESPN.com

Looks like the Habs decided to trade Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis for 2 minor leaguers: former first round pick, Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

This means that the Canadiens, despite the insane playoff that Halak had, when he actually kept them alive thru the conference finals, decided to go with the inconsistent Carey Price instead. It also means that Chris Mason is back on the table pending the potential loss of Nabokov, as a potentially cheaper, yet effective goaltender. He's 34, and had pretty decent seasons the last 2 years for a club without much defense. He might be a nice change for the sharks, if we lose Nabokov, in that he's still a really good tender, about the same age as Nabby, and he might give more time for Greiss to platoon with, and for about 3 million less per season that we can spend on defense.

I find it very weird though that the Habs decided to trade him. He was so stellar in the playoffs and at the end of the season for them, that I was almost sure he was due for a solid contract this summer to remain with the club for 3-4 years. Plus, I dont see how Lars Eller, as much of a potential playmaker as he is, is worth giving up such impressive talent that Halak showed. Granted, Halak has never played a full season, so nobody knows how much of a fluke his playoff run was, but, he seemed to be almost Dwayne Roloson-esque during the playoffs, and I'm sure that during the season, he'd be similarly as solid during the season - and 10 years younger than Roloson was when he hit his late prime with the Oilers.

Anyways. it's all very interesting, and really opens up the FA season in the Goalie dept.

DISCUSS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS!