Montreal Canadiens Reward Jaroslav Halak with Trade to St. Louis

 
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Montreal Canadiens have continued their long tradition of trading away key players of their hockey team for literally nothing. I think it’s my fault because I was born. I keep asking my Dad if the Habs pulled this crap when he was younger and he always looks back at me and laughs, saying that back in his day the Habs were too busy winning Stanley Cups for stupid stuff like that to happen.

The Habs miracle run of this past season ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals; a place the Habs haven’t been since 1993. Not only were the Habs considered unlikely candidates to make it that far in the playoffs but they basically tripped into the playoffs at the end of the season. To say that the Habs looked pathetic the last month of the season would be an understatement. They made the 1992-93 expansion Ottawa Senators look like an all-star team.

However, a few players shined throughout the playoffs and turned the Habs from a laughing stock to Cup contenders in a matter of weeks. While Mike Cammarlleri was scoring goals at a record setting pace, the big story was Jaroslav Halak shutting down not only Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals but also Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Halak’s performances were so good and so awe-inspiring that it made me, a long time Habs cynic actually care about the team.

So they rewarded Halak’s brilliant play with a one-way trip to St. Louis. Sometimes professional teams reward an outstanding player for their performance during the year with something extra like a car or a exotic vacation. I’ve never been to St. Louis but I’m pretty sure it’s as far away as exotic as a North American city can get.

Looking at what the Canadiens got, it looks like the tradition of horrible trades will most likely continue. The Habs got a minor leaguer and a player who’s still in the juniors. Both players have a combined SEVEN whole NHL games under their belt. You know, it would be something if they had picked up two junior players that were lighting the lamp up non-stop in their respective leagues but neither are.

Ian Schultz is a right-wing who’s been playing for the Calgary Hitmen for the last three seasons (he played one game in 2006-07). At the time he was drated in 2008, he led the Hitmen for penalty minutes that season. He’s a big guy that’s closer towards being an enforcer with limited ice time rather than someone along the lines of Zdeno Chara. In fact, some had criticized the Blues for picking him too high as they picked him 87th overall in the third round while he was ranked 92nd out of the North American players according to Central Scouting’s final rankings. He has improved a bit in the last two seasons as he’s nearly doubled his point-output from 30 in 2008 to 55 in 2010. However, if he’s only scoring 55 points in junior, he’s most likely not even going to come close to replicating those stats in the NHL.

Lars Eller is a centre/left-wing who has only played seven NHL games. He did score two goals for the Blues though. There seems to be plenty of upside with the guy but also quite a bit of hang-ups. According to multiple scouting agencies, he’s got tons of potential and Central Scouting actually had him ranked 3rd amongst European skaters in 2007. He played in this year’s AHL All-Star Game. However, he was a –1 for the Peoria Rivermen of the NHL in 70 games. He also comes from Denmark which isn’t a country known for their hockey players. While that may mean absolutely nothing during the regular season, it means that he’s little exposure to big game situations like World Championships and other international hockey events. He might be able to win big in his small pond but the NHL has much bigger fish.

So in Eller there’s potential and Schultz there’s cap liability. Not exactly what the people in Montreal want to hear. Maybe there was something else in the equation that we don’t know about (problems in the locker room, personal decisions, etc.) that have influenced too many horrible trades for Montreal in recent memory. From all things that I’ve heard was that Halak generally kept his nose clean and was a choir boy compared to his goaltending counterpart on the team, Carey Price. Does this mean the Habs have something in the works for the draft or do they have another trade up their sleeves? Are they trying to save cap space for a major player coming in or are they trying to throw money at players who might be leaving? It’s going to be a very interesting off-season for the Habs.