Who Becomes the Backup If Montreal Canadiens Trade Price or Halak?

With all the talk of late about which goaltender the Canadiens should or shouldn't play on any given night, there is one question that people are not asking: who becomes the backup if either Halak or Price is traded?

Lost in the discussions about which goaltender is better or who has the higher potential, or who has the best trade value, is the very important question of who will play second fiddle?

The person playing backup will depend largely on who gets traded because both Price and Halak are different people and have different needs. As such, there are two distinct scenarios: Halak gets traded and Price needs a veteran backup, or Price gets traded and there are a plethora of options. Before looking at these two scenarios and the challenges they bring, let's take a look at the Habs goaltending depth chart:

1A - Cedrick Desjardins
1B - Curtis Sanford
2 - Jason Missiaen
3 - Robert Mayer

Now, you could argue that Sanford is 1A and Desjardins is 1B, but for the purposes of this analysis I'll say that they are basically interchangeable. I put Desjardins as 1A in virtue of his 29 games played to Sanford's 26. Here is a quick look at their stats with the Bulldogs this year:

Cedrick Desjardins 29GP, 19 W, 6 L, 2 SL, 5 SO, 1.84 GAA, 0.929 SV%
Curtis Sanford 26GP, 12 W, 9 L, 2 SL, 3 SO, 2.17 GAA, 0.916 SV%
(Legend: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, SL = Shootout Loss, SO = Shutout, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV% = Save Percentage)

As you can see by the numbers, things are pretty close. Keep in mind, however, that Sanford is a UFA at the end of this season. Also keep in mind that Sanford was the best goalie at training camp this year, outplaying both Price and Halak.

Now that we have looked at the numbers, let's take a look at the scenarios.

Scenario One—The Canadiens Trade Carey Price

As much as it would pain me to see him go, I think that any responsible GM has to at least look at the possibility of trading Price. As I wrote last week, the feeling is that Price, if made available, would attract interest from all 29 GMs, whereas Halak would attract interest from roughly half of them.

So, all things being equal, let's say that Price gets traded. In this scenario, the Habs are anointing Halak as their starter and putting him in a role that he seems to have earned. Calm, quiet and understated, Halak has spent the last three years as a backup with the Canadiens.

Playing in the shadow of the all-mighty Carey Price, Halak never complained, never said a bad word and never asked for anything more than he was given.

An ancillary benefit of being out of the spotlight is that Halak was able to develop without the burden of weighted expectations. In fact, the only expectation placed on him was that he would step aside for Price to take his rightful place as the anointed No. 1 in Montreal.

Now that Price has been traded, in this scenario, Halak becomes number one. I, personally, feel that this is the easiest scenario for the Canadiens to deal with as either Desjardins or Sanford could come up and provide adequate backup services. Seeing how Sanford is a UFA at the end of the season, it might make sense to bring up Desjardins and let him do the job.

Unlike Price, Halak does not seem to require the guidance of a veteran backup, and as such, Desjardins is the natural, easy and inexpensive choice.

Scenario Two—The Canadiens Trade Jaroslav Halak

In this scenario, the Habs ship Halak out of town, again giving Price the soft seat and again giving him something that he hasn't earned: the starting job. I don't know why, but Gainey seems to protect Price and has a tough time making him earn his place.

I am not a fan of this strategy because all it does is inflate a person's ego and let him know that no matter what, he is still number one. This strategy, in my opinion, has hurt Price's development.

Regardless, in this scenario the Habs have traded Halak and Price gets the uncontested number one spot. Having Price as the uncontested starter is a bit more complicated and only because Price, himself, is more complicated than Halak.

While there is little doubt of the pure, raw talent that Price possesses, it has become abundantly clear that he is a little soft mentally. Moreover, he tends towards the slightly immature end of the scale and doesn't have the best work/practice habits.

I think that because of his character, Price is the type of prodigious goaltender who needs guidance, structure and someone to look up to.

During his first season in Montreal, Price was playing alongside Cristobal Huet. While Huet didn't have a lot of NHL experience himself, he was older than Price and was the perfect mentor. It is since the Habs traded Huet that Price has gone off the rails.

Since Huet's trade, Price has had no one to guide him or show him the ropes, and as a result, has seemed to be drifting on the ice and running amok off of it. The fact that Habs General Manager, Bob Gainey, has never made a move to address this obvious need points to a massive organizational failure.

If Gainey wanted Price to be number one, which clearly he did, he should have done everything in his power to properly insulate the youngster. Getting a veteran backup for him would be just the first of many steps he could have taken.

But I digress.

Now that we have determined that Price needs a veteran backup, the question is whether Sanford is that man or not. At 30 years of age, with five NHL seasons as a backup and 108 NHL games played, Sanford seems like the right man for the job. While he is a UFA at season's end, I believe that he could play the backup role well while acting as a mentor or guide to Price.

Sanford—who's salary is currently $600K per year—could easily be signed to a three year extension for between $600K and $800K per season, making him a cap friendly player. Seeing as he is a bit of a journeyman, I believe that Sanford would take fewer dollars for more term and the stability that that offers.

The other option would be to forsake Sanford and acquire a veteran goaltender in the Halak trade. While there are options out there like Marty Turco or Ty Conklin, neither provide the same mix of experience and cap friendliness that Sanford does. In my books, he is the best man for the job.

Ultimately, it is up to Gainey and the rest of the Habs brain-trust as to which goalie is traded and when. My belief, however, is that while they are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, the Habs simply cannot afford to trade either player.

If, however, the Habs fall completely out of the race, I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them moved.

Whether now or during the off season, one of the two goaltenders has to be moved before next year. Halak has already made a 'play me or trade me' demand, and Gainey has shown a fondness for Price.

The Habs have two young goalies who both feel that they have what it takes to be a number one. This is a volatile situation and one which can only last so long before it explodes.

Whether Gainey will be the man to eventually pull the trigger on a trade remains to be seen. With a new owner in town, you have to believe that missing the playoffs will almost certainly spell the end of Gainey's time in Montreal.

Only time will tell.

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