The Montreal Canadiens have traded away playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Halak, who is an restricted free agent, enjoyed his best season at the NHL level and carried the Habs into the Eastern conference finals. He posted a 26-13-5 record with Montreal this year along with a 2.40 GAA, a .924 save percentage and 5 shutouts. He then went 9-9 in the playoffs with a 2.55 GAA and a .923 save percentage. The move finally eliminates the goaltending controversy in Montreal, but leaves Price to face the wrath of the Halak supporters who have voiced their displeasure before.
In Eller the Canadiens get a skilled forward who was the Blues 1st choice (13th overall) in the 2007 draft. Eller played 7 games with the Blues last season, scoring twice. He played the majority of the campaign in the AHL where he had 57 points in 70 games. Previously the native of Denmark played in Sweden.
With Schultz the Habs get a big body with some toughness. Schultz played the past 3 seasons with the Calgary Hitman of the WHL and scored 21 goals and added 31 assists in 70 games along with 150 PIM's. He was the Blues 3rd round pick, 87th overall in the 2008 draft.
It's tough to know what to think about this trade. Most probably would have preferred to see the Canadiens get a more established player in return, but hopefully Eller and Schultz can make an impact someday....and soon. Eller should have a good chance to play with the Canadiens next season and by all reports he has the ability to be a top end talent. Obviously it's difficult to see a guy like Halak go. He was amazing in the playoffs and pretty consistent during his time in Montreal. My guess is the Habs decided they couldn't shell out the kind of money Halak was looking for and accomplish what they wanted to going forward in terms of signing players. Time will tell if the Canadiens made a huge mistake, or made the right move. It is clear now who the organization thinks is the goalie of the future.
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