Jaroslav Halák

Jaroslav Halák (born May 13, 1985) is a Slovak ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, and New York Islanders.

Career
Before playing in the NHL, Halák played 9 games with Bratislava in the Slovak Junior league, 12 games with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga and 47 games with the Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He was drafted with the 271st overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Before he played with the Canadiens, he would play for their AHL-affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs.

After Canadiens starting goaltender Cristobal Huet suffered an injury, Halák was called up on February 15, 2007. During the time of his callup, Halák had recorded a 2.00 goals against average (GAA) with the Bulldogs, which was the lowest in the AHL. He played his first NHL game with the Canadiens on February 18, 2007. He stopped 31 shots and earned a 3–2 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He earned his first career NHL shutout on March 20, 2007. For the shutout, he made thirty saves to keep the rival Boston Bruins off the board with a 1–0 victory. For most of the 2007–08 season, he played for the Bulldogs. After the Canadiens traded Huet, Halák was called up to be the full-time back-up goaltender. His first playoff start was on April 30, 2008 against the Philadelphia Flyers which ended in a 4-2 loss.

Halák was named as the Canadiens' Molson Cup Player of the Year for the 2009–10 season and he was also named as the starter heading into the first-round playoff match-up against the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals. In the sixth game of the series, He stopped 53 shots to set a team record for a playoff game (in regulation-time) and lead 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.

The Canadiens traded Halák on June 17, 2010 to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. He played his first game with the Blues on October 9, 2010 where he earned a 2–1 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Halák would collect his first shutout with the Blues on October 23, 2010 at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins, stopping 31 shots in a 1–0 overtime victory. In the 2011–2012 NHL season, Halak won the William M. Jennings Trophy with Brian Elliott for allowing the fewest amount of goals (165 collectively) in the regular season.

On February 28, 2014, before the 2013–14 trade deadline, Halák along with Chris Stewart, William Carrier, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2014 to the Buffalo Sabres for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott. Halák however did not play a game for the Sabres and was traded along with a third round draft pick to the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla at the trade deadline.

On May 1, 2014, when he became a pending unrestricted free agent, his rights were traded by the Capitals to the New York Islanders for a 4th round pick in the 2014 Entry Draft. On May 22, 2014, the Islanders signed him to a four-year contract worth $18 million.

References

Other websites 

1985 births
American Hockey League players
Boston Bruins players
ECHL players
Ice hockey goaltenders
Lewiston Maineiacs players
Living people
Montreal Canadiens players
New York Islanders players
People from Bratislava
Slovak ice hockey players
St. Louis Blues players
Washington Capitals players