The trade heard around the NHL—or at least in the city of Montreal—this past summer was a "surprise" move by Pierre Gauthier, sending playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
The trade was only surprising because fans had fallen in love with the soft-spoken Slovak goaltender during the spring of 2010. As such, most were up in arms that Gauthier dare trade Halak in favour of Carey Price.
If we back up a bit, before Halak had risen to the height of playoff goaltending miracle maker, we have to travel back to the 2003 NHL entry draft to see where this story started.
With the 10th pick in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected Jaroslav Halak. Now, ninth overall picks are generally looked at as depth players within any organization. Players, generally speaking, that will never reach the NHL but who populate the ranks of the minor leagues and AHL affiliates.
But Habs' head of amateur scouting, Trevor Timmins, saw something more in Halak.
He saw a player who in his estimation, if left undrafted for another year would likely have gon ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Kamal Panesar
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