Habs Playoff Hero Feeling Blue

I don't really understand this one, but the Habs have traded goaltender Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis. Somewhere Carey Price is smiling. Here is the release from the Blues organization.

– St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Thursday the club has acquired goaltender Jaroslav Halak from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

“Jaroslav’s play in this year’s regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs was remarkable,” said Davidson. “He has had very impressive numbers in the NHL and we are thrilled that he will be wearing the Bluenote for us.”

Halak, 25, was 26-13-5 in 2009-10 for Montreal and ranked 4th in the NHL in save percentage (.940), 9th in goals against average (2.40) and was tied for 5th with five shutouts. In his 26 wins this season he had a GAA of 1.68 and a save % of .948. He was 4-2-0 vs. the Western Conference with a GAA of 2.19 and a .928 save %. The 2009-10 “Molson Cup” winner as team MVP was 44-27-6 over the last two seasons in Montreal with a save percentage of .924 and GAA of 2.59.

In the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he took the Canadiens to the Conference Finals by winning two Game Sevens and eliminating Washington and Pittsburgh. He was the talk of the playoffs at one point when he won three straight games and eliminated the Capitals in Round One by stopping 131 of 134 shots, which included his stellar 53 of 54 shots saved in Game Five.

The 5’11”, 182 lb. Bratislava, Slovakia native was originally drafted by Montreal in the 9th round (271st overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Eller, 21, played in seven games for the Blues in 2009-10, scoring two goals and played 70 games for Peoria and recorded 57 points (18g, 39a). He was the 13th overall in pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Schultz, 20, played the last four seasons for the Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League. He recorded 55 points (24g, 31a) last season. He was the 87th overall pick (3rd round) by the Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.