Jaroslav Halak is an NHL goaltender playing in the AHL, a
victim of the combination of a big contract and the salary cap. That could
change in short order, though, with reports suggesting that 31-year-old goalie
is attracting trade interest.
One team supposedly entertaining a deal is the Edmonton
Oilers.
Oilers among the interested in Jaroslav Halak. Could see Flames & Bruins in there too. Islanders would have to retain salary though.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) February 28, 2017
Halak is an interesting player, one of four I identified
last week as a potential “bargain” acquisition at this year’s trade
deadline. He’s had a distinguished career (including some brilliant playoff
performances) and is 14-2-1 with a 0.933 save percentage in the AHL this year.
Despite that, he probably won’t be too costly.
The reason for that has everything to do with that
contract, which runs into next season at a salary of $5.0 million and a cap
hit of $4.5 million. That’s a lot of money to fill the 1B goaltending position.
The obvious option is for the Islanders to retain salary,
which could potentially knock Halak’s cap hit down to $2.25 million. There are
two potential problems with that. The first is that Halak can’t be protected
from Las Vegas by the Oilers, and presumably the Golden Knights would jump at
the chance to get a good goalie at $2.25 million, though it’s possible that
would be seen as a feature rather than a bug.
The other issue is that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has
typically used the backup goalie position as a place to save cap space:
- 2012-13: Anton Khudobin, $875,000
- 2013-14: Chad Johnson, $600,000
- 2014-15: Niklas Svedberg, $600,000
- 2015-16: Anders Nilsson, $1,000,000
- 2016-17: Jonas Gustavsson, $800,000
Maybe the possibility of losing Halak to Vegas cancels out
that concern of sinking a lot of money in net, but I have to think that Halak at 50% cap hit is a valuable
piece, the kind a team has to pay for and hopes not to lose in expansion.
The other option for a deal is a big contract going the
other way. Edmonton has two that might conceivably qualify: Mark Fayne and Benoit
Pouliot.
Fayne, like Halak, has one year left on his deal and has
been impressive at the AHL level. He has 11 points in 22 minor-league contests,
and head coach Gerry Fleming is obviously a fan. Asked about Fayne’s attitude in
late January by 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer, the coach offered the following:
Absolutely fantastic, he’s a real pro. He’s made guys
better, no doubt about it. I think he’s helped [Griffin Reinhart], like you
mentioned, but not only Griff but he’s helped our team. We’ve got some young
guys this year and his voice in the dressing room, his leadership on the ice,
the way he approaches practice, nothing but great things. He’s come down here
and he’s worked hard. He understands his role and he’s accepted his role. He’s
really made a difference on our back end.
The Islanders are in a tight playoff race and are presently without right-shooting veteran Travis Hamonic. Fayne could certainly be a fit there immediately and offer
the club a veteran third-pairing presence next season. Also of interest: the
gap between the salaries of Fayne and Halak ($1.5 million) next season is a lot
bigger than the gap in cap hit ($875,000) and that might well appeal to a team
looking to save dollars.
Fayne’s probably a better fit than Benoit Pouliot, who has
two seasons left on his current contract and has been a disaster for the Oilers
this season. It’s also hard to see where Pouliot would slot in on an Islanders
team that has 14
forwards already signed for next season.
It’s the kind of deal which would address immediate need for
both teams, save the Isles some money and give Edmonton either some expansion
cover or a dynamite goaltending tandem next season.
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Do it Chia ! We already missed out on everybody!!!!
Please let it be Halak for Fayne and a 5th rounder. Hell make it the 3rd if the Islanders retain salary.
My first choice would be Nilsson from Buffalo. Having a great year and somewhat familiar with the team.
Halak only if they take fayne
MacT has been in Buffalo last 2 games supposedly scouting Nilsson. (Shutters that he’s still with team) But maybe he would be a backup option too. I’m guessing if any deal(s) go down it won’t be until the last minute tomorrow.
Have you ever dated an ex?
Davidson traded to Montreal for desharnais
If we traded for Halak, this is the only way I would do it.
Offseason Trade
Eberle, Musil and 2018 3rd for Halak, Strome, and RD Pulock/RW Ho-Sang and Islanders do not have to retain salary. The salaries are basically a wash, Oilers won’t have cap issues next year and maybe LV takes Halak as their veteran starter. Strome is McDavids best friend and could play his wing and drop Drai to 2C or have them both play RW. Lucic –
Nuge – Drai could be aa great line. Strome needs to get away from Snow’s black cloud. Pulock is a great RD prospect just ripe to full time NHL work and Ho-Sang is a RW that puts up points
Gives the Islanders the RW to replace Okposo on Tavaras line and they have played together a few times and are friends. The get to dump Halaks contract and put that money into Eberle. They are souring on Strome and think Strome wants out.
Worst case for Edmonton is they add no salary, have Strome replace Eberle as RW who is cheaper and under control, add a blue chip RD prospect in Pulock who has 10G and 27 pts in 30 AHL games this season. You pay Halak a lot as a back up, for close to a wash in cap.
Both teams rearrange cap into players that better suit their needs.
Options for getting rid of Halak:
LV picks him up as he would be the most valuable Oiler unprotected or maybe Oilers trade him to Vegas so they don’t have to waste a pick on a goalie. Or trade him to a team next year if there is an injury to a starter or a trade deadline deal for a 3rd pick.
Oilers won’t have cap issues next year, it is the year after that and they will save $3.5 mill on Strome for Eberle and have a cheap RD on entry level contract.
I beleive Strome will be able to match Eberles’ offensive output of 65+ pts per season and with his bes friend McDavid as his center, he could easily scrore close to a pt per game pace, he definitely has that type of skill.
Maroon – McDavid – Strome
Lucic – Draisaitl – Puljujarvi
Caguilia – Nuge – new (Eaves/Vrbata)
Khaira – Letestu – Kassian
Klefbom – Larsson
Sekera – Benning
Nurse – Pulock
Do this trade chai. Especially if isles are willing to retain salary. Halak is a proven veteran that can help this team for a playoff push and into next year as well.
Halak for Fayne makes sense for both teams I guess but that Davidson trade leaves a bitter taste in my mouth
Why the rush to trade Fayne? I’d rather ditch Pouliot. More term. No role on this team. At least Fayne is helping the kids on the farm.
It doesn’t matter: Fayne, Pouilot …. get us some Halak!!!!!
Done. Pick up Ryan Strome too
Before someone waltzes in here, sees that he’s in the AHL, and declares that he’s done, just remember that Halak posted a .941 save percentage (including .931 in back-to-back high stakes games against Team Canada) behind a Frankenstein team less than 6 MONTHS AGO. He’s someone who can steal Ws while Cam rests a little for the playoffs.