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Jaroslav Halák

Jaroslav Halák (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈjarɔslaw ˈɦalaːk]; born 13 May 1985) is a Slovak professional ice hockey goaltender for Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga. He was selected in the ninth round, 271st overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Halák has also previously played for the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Capitals.

Jaroslav Halák
Halák with the New York Islanders in 2015
Born (1985-05-13) 13 May 1985 (age 39)
Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
SVK team
Former teams		 Slovan Bratislava
Montreal Canadiens
St. Louis Blues
Washington Capitals
New York Islanders
Boston Bruins
Vancouver Canucks
New York Rangers
National team  Slovakia
NHL draft 271st overall, 2003
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2005–present

Playing career

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Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues

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Halák played for the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hamilton Bulldogs during the 2006–07 season before being called up to their National Hockey League (NHL) parent team, the Montreal Canadiens on 15 February 2007, after an injury to the Canadiens' starting goaltender, Cristobal Huet. At the time of his call-up, Halák had a 2.00 goals against average (GAA) with the Bulldogs, the lowest in the AHL. He played his first NHL game on 18 February 2007, stopping 31 shots in a 3–2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Halák earned his first career NHL shutout on 20 March 2007, making thirty saves to keep the Canadiens' rival Boston Bruins off the board with a 1–0 victory.

Halák was assigned to the Bulldogs for the majority of the 2007–08 season. However, after the Canadiens traded Huet on 26 February 2008, Halák took over full-time as the Canadiens back-up goaltender. He started his first playoff game on 30 April 2008 against the Philadelphia Flyers (a 4–2 loss) after sub-par performances from newly appointed starter Carey Price, who once again took over in the following game. He fulfilled back-up duties for the Canadiens into the following season. However, Halák's strong play coupled with inconsistent performances from Price led to an opportunity for Halák to step into a larger role. Ultimately, based on his strong play for the Canadiens and for Slovakia at the Vancouver Olympics, there was a strong internal push to designate Halák the team's starting goaltender. Halák went on to be named the Canadiens' Molson Cup Player of the Year for the season and was designated the starter heading into their first-round playoff match-up against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals. In the sixth game of the series, Halák stopped 53 shots to set a club record for a playoff game (in regulation-time),[1] leading the Canadiens to a 4–1 victory. Ultimately, the Canadiens overcame a 3–1 series deficit to win the series in seven games, marking one of the biggest upsets in NHL history.[2] The win was attributed largely to Halák's play as he turned aside 131 of Washington's 134 shots in games 5 through 7, frustrating the league's top scoring team from the regular season.[3] After defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, the Canadiens fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final with a 4–1 series loss.[4]

 
Halák with the New York Islanders in 2014

At the conclusion of the season, both Halák and Price became restricted free agents and a great goaltending debate emerged in Montreal over who would remain with the team, playoff-hero Halák, or the younger Price. After weeks of media speculation the Canadiens chose Price and on 17 June, controversially traded Halák to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for two prospects, center Lars Eller and right-winger Ian Schultz.[5] On 6 July 2010, Halák signed a four-year $15 million contract with the Blues.[6] Prior to the 2010–11 season, Halák held an autograph-signing in Montreal as a farewell and goodwill gesture, to thank fans for their support as well as to raise funds for the Montreal Ste-Justine Children's Hospital. Though 500 fans were expected, more than 5000 fans attended the event held at the Fairview Pointe-Claire mall, testifying to his popularity with Canadiens' fans.[7]

Halák played his first game with the Blues on 9 October 2010, earning a 2–1 victory over the Flyers. Halák would earn his first shutout with the team on 23 October 2010 at home against the Penguins, stopping 31 shots in a 1–0 overtime victory.[8] Halák had a quick start, going 8–1–1 and would share the starting role with Brian Elliott for the remainder of the season. In the 2011–12 season, Halák and Elliott were awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals (165 collectively) in the regular season.

Trades and New York Islanders

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Prior to the 2013–14 trade deadline, the Blues traded Halák, Chris Stewart, William Carrier, a first-round draft pick in 2015, and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2014 to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott on 28 February 2014.[9] Halák did not appear in a game for the Sabres and was ultimately dealt along with a third round draft pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla at the trade deadline.[10] Halák dressed for the Sabres as the backup goaltender in one game, making him the 10th player in Sabres history to dress for the team in a regular-season game but not play.[11]

As pending unrestricted free agent, Halák's rights were traded by the Capitals to the New York Islanders on 1 May 2014 for a fourth round pick in the 2014 draft.[12] On 22 May 2014, the Islanders signed him to a four-year contract worth $18 million.[13] On 4 December 2014, the Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators, with Halák earning his 11th consecutive win and set a franchise record previously held by Billy Smith, who won 10 consecutive games.[14] On 15 January 2015, he was named to the 2015 NHL All Star Game as an injury replacement for Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, marking his first NHL All-Star appearance.[15] At the game, he played for the team captained by the Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews and stopped six of ten shots in the third period as he, Islanders' teammate John Tavares, and Team Toews won the game by a record setting score of 17–12.[16] On 19 February 2015, he tied the Islanders' franchise record for most wins in a season, with his 32nd win coming in a 5–2 win against the Predators.[17] Eight days later on 27 February, he set a new franchise record by recording his 33rd win of the season in a 2–1 win against the Calgary Flames.[18]

In March 2016, Halák suffered lower-body injury and missed the rest of the season, with Thomas Greiss filling in during the injury.[19] During the 2016–17 season, on 30 December 2016, Halák was placed on waivers.[20][21] The next day, he was assigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL).[22]

Boston Bruins

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After completing his four-year contract with the Islanders, Halák left as a free agent to sign a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Boston Bruins on 1 July 2018.[23] Halák had his first start as a Bruin on 4 October 2018 in a 4–0 shutout win against the Buffalo Sabres. Halák made his return to Long Island on March 19 and got a tribute video played for him along with a standing ovation from the fans in attendance. He ended the season with 22 wins and 5 shutouts in 40 total games.

On 1 May 2020, the Bruins signed Halák to a one-year, $2.25 million contract extension.[24]

During the shortened 2019–20 season, Halák won his second Jennings Trophy, winning it alongside Tuukka Rask. Halák had 18 wins and three shutouts in 31 total games.[25]

On 15 August 2020, Halák was named starter by the Bruins for the rest of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs after Rask left the team for personal reasons before the third game of the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.[26]

Vancouver Canucks

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Following his third season with the Bruins, Halák left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on 28 July 2021.[27]

New York Rangers

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On 13 July 2022, Halák signed as a free agent to a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the New York Rangers.[28] Halák recorded his first win as a Ranger on 30 November, against the Ottawa Senators, making 34 saves in a 3–1 victory.[29] He finished the season with a 10–9–5 record in 25 games with a goals against average of 2.72 and a save percentage of .903.

Slovan Bratislava

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On 6 November 2023, Halák was signed to a professional tryout (PTO) contract by the Carolina Hurricanes.[30] He was released by the team on 20 November.[31]

After being unable to sign an NHL contract, Halák signed a one-year contract with his original club, Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga, on 15 February 2024.[32]

International play

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Halák in 2010 with the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing   Slovakia
World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place  2003 Russia
Representing Team Europe
Canada Cup / World Cup
Silver medal – second place  2016 Toronto

Halák has represented Slovakia internationally on multiple occasions. He first played for his country at the IIHF World U20 Championship, starting every game for the team in both the 2004 and 2005 tournaments, where the team finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Halák's first senior international experience came in 2007 as he played in the 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, starting 2 games and earning a 1–1 record. The Slovaks finished in sixth place.[33] Halák again represented Slovakia at the 2009 tournament, where the team finished 10th overall.[34]

In February 2010, Halák was named the starting goaltender for the Slovak national team in the 2010 Winter Olympics, along with future Bruins defensive teammate Zdeno Chára. He stopped 36 of 37 shots in a preliminary round victory against a strong Russian team, and went on to start every game for the Slovaks. Halák and his teammates finished fourth overall in the tournament after losing against Finland in the bronze medal match.[35] This was the best finish ever for Slovakia at the Olympics, one spot better than their fifth-place finish during the 2006 Olympics. Halák played in two of Slovakia's four games during the 2014 Olympics, losing both games as the team would go on to finish 11th.[36]

At the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Halák led the underdog Team Europe to a 2-1-0 record in the group stage, good for 2nd place in Group A. He then backstopped the team to the final, where they lost in the best of three to Team Canada, 3-1 and 2–1, respectively.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2001–02 Slovan Bratislava U20 22 — — — 1257 41 0 1.96 — 6 6 0 353 7 2 1.19 —
2002–03 Slovan Bratislava U20 20 13 3 3 1200 41 1 2.02 — — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Slovan Bratislava U20 29 — — — 1694 51 5 1.81 — — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Slovan Bratislava Slovak 12 — — — 651 18 0 1.66 .942 1 — — 45 6 0 8.00 .903
2003–04 Dukla Senica Slovak.1 21 — — — 1240 54 1 2.61 — — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Lewiston Maineiacs QMJHL 47 24 17 4 2697 125 4 2.78 .913 8 4 4 460 27 0 3.52 .908
2005–06 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 20 11 4 2 1026 35 2 2.05 .932 4 2 2 252 13 0 3.09 .910
2005–06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 13 7 6 0 786 30 3 2.29 .927 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 28 16 11 0 1618 54 6 2.00 .932 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 16 10 6 0 912 44 2 2.89 .906 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 8 3 2 2 454 22 0 2.91 .901 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 2 1 1 284 10 1 2.11 .934 2 0 1 77 3 0 2.34 .889
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 34 18 14 1 1931 92 1 2.86 .915 1 0 0 20 0 0 0.00 1.000
2009–10 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 26 13 5 2630 105 5 2.40 .924 18 9 9 1013 43 0 2.55 .923
2010–11 St. Louis Blues NHL 57 27 21 7 3294 136 7 2.48 .910 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 St. Louis Blues NHL 46 26 12 7 2747 90 6 1.97 .926 2 1 1 104 3 0 1.73 .935
2012–13 Lausitzer Füchse 2.GBun 1 1 0 0 65 1 0 0.92 .950 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 St. Louis Blues NHL 16 6 5 1 813 29 3 2.14 .899 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 St. Louis Blues NHL 40 24 9 4 2238 83 4 2.23 .917 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Washington Capitals NHL 12 5 4 3 701 27 1 2.31 .930 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 New York Islanders NHL 59 38 17 4 3550 144 6 2.43 .914 7 3 4 418 16 0 2.30 .926
2015–16 New York Islanders NHL 36 18 13 4 2091 80 3 2.30 .919 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 New York Islanders NHL 28 12 9 5 1606 75 2 2.80 .915 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 27 17 7 4 1536 55 2 2.15 .925 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 New York Islanders NHL 54 20 26 6 3025 161 1 3.19 .908 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Boston Bruins NHL 40 22 11 4 2309 90 5 2.34 .922 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Boston Bruins NHL 31 18 6 6 1834 73 3 2.39 .919 9 4 5 544 25 0 2.76 .902
2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 19 9 6 4 1091 46 2 2.53 .905 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Vancouver Canucks NHL 17 4 7 2 797 39 0 2.94 .903 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 New York Rangers NHL 25 10 9 5 1454 66 1 2.72 .903 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 581 295 189 69 33,303 1,390 53 2.50 .915 39 17 20 2,177 90 0 2.48 .919

International

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Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2002 Slovakia WJC18 8th 7 — — — 416 18 1 2.59 .887
2003 Slovakia WJC18 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  7 — — — 420 14 0 2.00 .932
2004 Slovakia WJC 6th 6 2 3 1 360 14 2 2.33 .930
2005 Slovakia WJC 7th 6 4 2 0 360 13 2 2.17 .916
2007 Slovakia WC 6th 2 1 1 0 119 5 1 2.52 .904
2009 Slovakia WC 10th 4 1 2 0 189 10 0 3.17 .872
2010 Slovakia OG 4th 7 3 3 0 423 17 1 2.41 .911
2011 Slovakia WC 10th 6 2 4 0 354 15 0 2.54 .909
2014 Slovakia OG 11th 2 0 2 0 93:30 8 0 5.13 .857
2016 Team Europe WCH 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  6 3 3 0 362 13 1 2.15 .941
Junior totals 26 — — — 1556 59 5 — —
Senior totals 27 10 15 0 1540 68 3 2.70 .907

Awards and achievements

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References

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  1. ^ "Halak makes 53 saves as Canadiens force Game 7 with 4-1 win over Caps". National Hockey League. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Montreal Canadiens eliminate Washington Capitals". The Oakland Press. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Halak, Canadiens knock Ovechkin, top-seeded Capitals out of postseason". ESPN. 28 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  4. ^ El-Bashir, Tarik (25 May 2010). "Philadelphia Flyers defeat Montreal Canadiens to advance to Stanley Cup finals". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Canadiens deal goaltender Halak to Blues". The Sports Network. 17 June 2010.
  6. ^ LeBrun, Pierre (6 July 2010). "Halak signs 4-year deal with Blues". ESPN. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ^ O'Brien, James (5 September 2010). "Jaroslav Halak's farewell autograph session raises $22K for Montreal charity". NBC Sports. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Bourque, Halak and Stamkos named 'Three Stars'". National Hockey League. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Miller, Ott traded to Blues by Sabres for Halak, Stewart". National Hockey League. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  10. ^ Kimelman, Adam (5 March 2014). "Capitals acquire goalie Halak for Neuvirth, Klesla". National Hockey League. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  11. ^ Buffalo Sabres public relations department on Twitter
  12. ^ Brehm, Mike (1 May 2014). "Capitals trade Jaroslav Halak's rights to Islanders". USA Today. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  13. ^ "Halak Agrees to Four-Year Deal". National Hockey League. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Halak wins franchise-record 11th straight game for Isles". The New York Post. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Islanders goalie Halak chosen for NHL All-Star game". Yahoo! Sports. 15 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Team Toews at Team Foligno". National Hockey League. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  17. ^ Satriano, David (19 February 2015). "Halak ties Islanders record with win against Predators". National Hockey League. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  18. ^ Satriano, David (27 February 2015). "Halak sets Islanders record with win against Flames". National Hockey League. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  19. ^ Johnston, Chris (9 March 2016). "New York Islanders turn to Thomas Greiss as Halak goes down". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  20. ^ Billeck, Scott (30 December 2016). "Jaroslav Halak placed on waivers by Islanders". NHL.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  21. ^ "New York Islanders Transactions". NHL.com. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  22. ^ "Islanders Assign Jaroslav Halak to Bridgeport". SoundTigers.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Bruins announce 7 transactions on July 1". Boston Bruins. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  24. ^ McLaughlin, Scott (May 2020). "Bruins sign Jaroslav Halak to 1-year extension". WEEI. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  25. ^ Westerholm, Tom (28 May 2020). "Boston Bruins named winners of President's Trophy; Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak, David Pastrnak earn regular season awards". masslive. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  26. ^ Pell, Samantha (15 August 2020). "Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask leaves Toronto bubble, opts out of NHL postseason". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Canucks sign Jaroslav Halak to one-year contract". Vancouver Canucks. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Rangers Agree to Terms with Jaroslav Halak". NHL.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  29. ^ Fraser, Callum (30 November 2022). "Halak gets first win with Rangers, makes 34 saves against Senators". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  30. ^ Ruff, Walt (6 November 2023). "In The Crease: Now What For The Canes?". NHL.com. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  31. ^ Ruff, Walt (20 November 2023). "Halak Released From Free Agent Tryout". NHL.com. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  32. ^ "Slovan sa predbežne dohodol na spolupráci s Jaroslavom Halákom". hcslovan.sk (in Slovak). 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  33. ^ "2007 IIHF World Championship". IIHF.
  34. ^ "2009 IIHF World Championship". IIHF.
  35. ^ "Finland defeats Slovakia to capture hockey bronze". The Sports Network. 28 February 2010.
  36. ^ "Player Statistics by Team" (PDF). IIHF. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy
2011–12
With: Brian Elliott 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy
2019–20
With: Tuukka Rask 		Succeeded by
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