Despite Jaroslav Halak's Success, Philadelphia Flyers Better Off without Him

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

About three weeks ago, various reports surfaced suggesting that the Montreal Canadiens were offering goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was never confirmed which players the Canadiens were asking for in return, but the asking price was thought to start with Jeff Carter and perhaps a draft pick.

On the surface, sending Carter to the Canadiens for Halak seemed a steep price to pay for a goaltender that, for the bulk of his career, has been looked upon as a backup goalie.

Fast-forward to today and you’d find that the NHL has announced Halak as its first star of the week and, given his solid performance, Halak may have disposed of his “backup” label.

Halak, who went 3-0 last week, stopping 140 of 146 shots in the process, was nothing short of spectacular for the Canadiens, making it tough for the organization to put Carey Price (Montreal's supposed number one goalie) back in net.

Simply put, Halak’s stats were off the hook last week as he posted a 3-0 record with a 1.97 GAA and a .959 SV%. On the season, Halak now has a record of 10-5-0, putting him ahead of Price in the wins department and leading some fans to elect him as the Canadiens' starter.

Halak made 47 saves versus the Atlanta Thrashers last Monday, 46 saves against the Carolina Hurricanes last Wednesday, and 47 saves against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. All three games were played on the road, further underlining the strength of Halak’s play.

From the Flyers' point of view, the decision not to acquire Halak was still the right thing to do. Despite the team's 2-7-1 record through the first 10 games of December, Philadelphia has rebounded to go 3-0 in their past three games, with goaltender Michael Leighton, a waiver wire pick up for the Flyers, getting the win in all three games.

Ray Emery, the Flyers No. 1 goalie, had surgery to repair an abdominal injury on Dec. 9 and is not expected to be back in the lineup until late February. Still, the Flyers' downfall has not been the play of their goaltenders, but rather the play of the team on the whole, which, before last week, had been abysmal, to say the least.

Adding Halak to the Flyers lineup would have given the team a terrific one-two punch of Emery and Halak in between the pipes, but the loss of Carter (despite his struggles this season) would have hurt the Flyers' offense and, in the process, may have hurt the Flyers' psyche as well.

Let’s not forget, Carter scored 46 goals last season and, while winning the Player of the Week award is an honor and a tremendous accomplishment, Carter's feat of scoring 46 goals was a greater accomplishment.

The Flyers are better off sticking with Leighton and Brian Boucher in net. They may have to weather the storm for another three to four weeks, but, in the end, the Flyers are better off with Carter in the lineup.

On the flip side, while disappointed they were unable to land Carter, the Canadiens must be pleased that Halak has performed so admirably. Montreal now has the problem every NHL team invites: two great goalies and just one net to fill.

Sometimes the best deal an NHL general manager makes is the deal they never made. In this case, both Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia Flyers GM) and Bob Gainey (Montreal Canadiens GM) seem to have come out of the wash smelling like a rose on this, the deal that was never consummated.

Until next time,

Peace!