Few teams in the history of the NHL have had a stranger relationship with starting goaltenders than the New York Islanders. With four Stanley Cups, and plenty of playoff appearances since 1972, it’s odd to see that the goaltending hero is rarely an Islanders draft pick.
The greatest goaltender in Islanders history was Billy Smith. Smith was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1970, joining the Islanders as part of the expansion draft. His five games in 71-72 for the Kings didn’t make him look like a goalie that was going to break into the NHL as a starter. Picked along with former Blackhawks goaltender Gerry Desjardins, Smith soon developed into “Battlin Billy”, and set the standard for Islanders goalies.
The future of goaltending in Long Island looked to move on to draft pick Kelly Hrudey, who played in the unforgettably long Easter Epic, but in the final season for Smith, Hrudey was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Mark Fitzpatrick. It would, however, be a different former Kings goalie, Glenn Healy, who brought the magic back to the Islanders in 1992-1993, when they did the impossible, and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games. The Islanders were then halted in the Conference Finals by the Canadiens, as Healy moved on to the expansion Mighty Ducks that summer.
The Islanders wouldn’t have a draft pick start for them until Tommy Salo in 96-97, who never saw playoff time a a starter on the team. While draft pick Roberto Luongo could have become the future of the Islanders, he instead became the future of the Florida Panthers. The Islanders then drafted Rick DiPietro first overall in 2000, hoping he’d lead them back to the playoffs. Instead, former Stanley Cup winner Chris Osgood came to the Islanders in 2001-2002, acquired by waivers.
Osgood played phenomenally that season, pushing Long Island right back into the playoffs. The Islanders lost in seven games to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but once again, an outsider took them to prominence between the pipes. Osgood was traded to let DiPietro, and now Islanders GM, Garth Snow to take the reins. Snow was a journeyman goaltender, starting for the Islanders in 2002-2003, before backing up DiPietro in 2003-2004. Was DiPietro truly going to be the Islanders-drafted goaltender to be the future of the club? A 15 year, $67.5M contract certainly gave that feeling.
Instead, DiPietro couldn’t stay healthy, and eventually flamed out of the league. The Islanders made the playoffs in 2006-2007, and then missed them for five seasons, before making it back in 2012-2013. Former Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov played between the pipes, but it was clear that his days in the NHL were numbered. The following year, the Islanders were back to the bottom of the east, now skating into a future without a real netminder.
Enter Jaroslav Halak.
Halak knows what it feels like to be an outsider, even on his own team. Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens at 271st overall in 2003, Halak was on the peripheral for the Habs goalie future. In front of him was Hart and Vezina winner, Jose Theodore, and former Kings goaltender, Cristobal Huet. In 2005, chances got even slimmer for him, as Carey Price was drafted fifth overall by the Canadiens. Was he ever going to get his shot with the Habs?
Despite a league trending towards bigger goalies, the 5’11” Halak (Currently the second smallest goalie in the league, after Jhonas Enroth) came to Canada, excelled in the QMJHL, excelled in the ECHL, and excelled to the AHL, all the way to playing for the Habs, after an injury to Huet in 2006-2007.
With Theodore gone, and Huet falling out of favour, it was clear either Halak or Price would be the future in Montreal. The Habs traded Huet in the midst of their best season in years, showing their confidence in the two. However, Halak had to wrestle the starting position from a younger goalie with a thicker pedigree, and struggled in Price’s shadow.
That was until the 2009-2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.
With Price scrambling to start against the high-powered Washington Capitals, Halak was put in the crease, and didn’t just outperform Price…he outperformed the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, having possibly the most legendary Canadiens goaltending performance not to lead to a Stanley Cup. The magic eventually faded in the Eastern Conference finals, as the Canadiens dropped four games to one to the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the eyes of many Habs fans, Jaroslav Halak looked like the the team’s true starter. Halak was just entering restricted free agency and needed a new deal. Montreal had to choose between the playoff hero or the struggling youngster. Price had the pedigree, while Halak had the results. Surprisingly, Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier went with Price, by trading Halak to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. This wasn’t the first time Montreal had to make a decision like this. The Canadiens once had a veteran All-Star in Rogie Vachon, but traded him after the heroics of a rookie named Ken Dryden. Vachon went on to become one of the greatest goalies in Los Angeles Kings history. Dryden went on to become one of the greatest goalies of all time.
For Halak, it felt like he was finally going to be respected, and given the starter position in St. Louis. The goaltender played 57 games in his first year with the Blues, the most of his career. Despite this, he still couldn’t grip the starter position completely for himself. In 2011-2012, Blues backup Brian Elliott turned the crease into a platoon position, playing 38 games to Halak’s 46. It would be wrong to say that Halak failed to meet expectations (he currently holds the Blues record for all-time shutouts), but when your back-up has a 241 minute shutout streak, and you share the William Jennings trophy with him? It’s clear you’re in a 1A/1B situation.
Despite being known for playoff heroics in Montreal, Halak only ever suited up for two playoff games for the St. Louis Blues. The 2012-2013 season brought Halak injury and question marks, as the Blues saw a youngster in Jake Allen emerging, and their record in February, a paltry 4-7-1. With questions to his commitment, and whether he would be the goaltender to take the Blues to the Stanley Cup, GM Doug Armstrong traded Halak to the Buffalo Sabres in March, on a deal which saw Ryan Miller go the other way. It was a disappointing end to Halak’s time with the Blues, where despite putting up great goaltending numbers, he once again could not break platoon status.
Never suiting up for the bottom-feeder Sabres, Halak was instead sent to the Washington Capitals, in hopes to propel them to the playoffs. Following a 4-2 start, the Capitals lost five straight games (0-3) with Halak allowing 13 goals. Nobody was harder on Halak than Halak himself in the playoff-missing game against the Devils on April 4th. “To me, it was an easy shot, and I let it in,” said Halak, commenting on the game-winning goal by Ryan Carter. His unrestricted status in the summer of 2014 gave doubt to the Capitals looking to re-sign him, as the original reason for the trade was due to starting goalie Brayden Holtby’s injury.
Despite the uncertainty toward Halak from fans and Halak himself, Islanders GM Garth Snow knew what he could have in the Slovak goaltender. Sending a fourth round pick to the Capitals for his rights, Snow signed Halak to a four year contract worth $18 Million.
With 40 games into the 2014-2015 season, the 29 year-old goaltender has started 29 games for the Islanders, establishing himself not just as their only starter, but the starter of a team he was never drafted from. A team that has seen their best years with outsiders between the pipes; goalies with something to prove. His numbers are not astronomically great like they were in the Ken Hitchcock system in St. Louis, but are more likely his average, good enough to win on any given night. If Halak stays healthy and consistent, the Islanders won’t have to worry about goaltending in the John Tavares era.
When Halak was traded from Montreal, Carey Price proved that the Canadiens made the right decision, and has established himself as their very best player. It took a few teams for Halak to finally find his home, but it looks like now, he has. It should be no surprise. The New York Islanders, from Billy Smith, to Glenn Healy, to Chris Osgood, have proven to be a place where goalies with something to prove can prove it. Jaroslav Halak wanted to prove he was a starter in the NHL. Not all questions are answered yet, but the most important question has: Halak is a starter.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @AaronWrotkowski. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our wrestling writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for? GO!
Main Photo:
