Chowder and Champions
Fansided

Boston Bruins: Jaroslav Halak is a quality pickup

By Sam Minton

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 16: Goalie Jaroslav Halak #41 of the New York Islanders looks on after allowing a goal to Matt Niskanen #2 of the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena on March 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 16: Goalie Jaroslav Halak #41 of the New York Islanders looks on after allowing a goal to Matt Niskanen #2 of the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena on March 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston Bruins lost backup goaltender Anton Khudobin but made a nice move by making Jaroslav Halak his replacement.

The Boston Bruins did not sign John Tavares, but they do have a new backup goaltender. Sadly the Bruins were unable to re-sign Anton Khudobin who is now a member of the Dallas Stars, so the B’s went out and signed Jaroslav Halak to a two-year deal.

Halak is a veteran goaltender who has been a starter for the majority of his career. Halak has started in over 400 games in his 13-year career.

Last season Halak was on the New York Islanders and had a rough season to say the least. Halak went 20-26-6 with a .908 save percentage and an ugly 3.19 goals against average. It is clear that Halak isn’t built to be a starter anymore.

More from Chowder and Champions

Still, I think the Bruins got a solid goaltender who fits their need.

The Bruins don’t need Halak to play a lot. He will be well rested as the backup and shouldn’t play more than 25 games next season. Halak will allow Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy to keep Tuukka Rask fresh and not have to worry about giving up 5 goals.

Halak will also keep the pressure on Rask since he has been a starter before. Maybe if Rask performs like he did early on last season Cassidy will ride the hot hand. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

Halak definitely has some big shoes to fill as Khudobin had one of the best seasons a backup could have. You could argue “Dobby” saved the Bruins season by performing well when Rask was struggling.

Next: Time to say goodbye to Anton Khudobin

Once again I think the Boston Bruins will turn someone else’s trash into treasure. Hopefully, we will be hearing “save by Halak!” a lot next season.

Home/Boston Bruins