Rock You Lak a Halak: Jaroslav is reincarnation of Hasek, Vokoun, Irbe…or a Damn Monster!….PLEKS UPDATE
Everyone is bloviating about Halak’s sublime performances these last few weeks. Especially on the heals of the 4 points he just stole from Vancouver and Boston.
We here at habsradio.com – well me actually, because ERIC never believed me – predicted at season’s start that if the Habs were to make the playoffs, Halak would be the starter. Remember, that sounded CRAZY just 3 months ago. And we won’t know for awhile if it will come true. But one thing is for sure, if the playoffs started TODAY, Halak would start in nets. And that in itself is a HUGE shift from where we used to be.
***Look Ma, with me eyes closed***
HOWEVER - this is the first time we’ve had the chance to really watch Halak for a sustained and consistent period of time. So far, he is doing everything he can to just stop the damn puck. His mental toughness is great, his energy factor is way high. He’s the consummate teammate. And his numbers? Well, they are out of this world right now. A .930 save percentage? Are you kidding me? And those game-saving saves? WOW!
BUT - In watching Halak last night, I realized a few things about his game.
* He gives up A LOT of rebounds. If not for some well-timed defensive plays, the scores against him would be higher (we can call this even of course, because if not for Halak bailing out the defencemen night in and night out, they’d all be in Defenceman jail). But at some point, other teams are going to figure this out, no?
* Opponents hit A LOT of posts with him. So is this good luck or good positioning? I don’t know yet.
* He flops around.
It’s this last point that has me most concerned. At times, in watching Halak, I don’t know if all this fish-like behavior is part of his style, or because he is just doing everything he can, on sheer willpower, to beat the puck. In this new era of bigger goalies, it makes sense that Halak would have to move around a little bit more than others.
Halak: He not big man. But style is….mess.
Look at how tsn.ca describes Dominik Hasek. Sound familiar?
NOW HOLD YOUR FIRE KIDDIES – I don’t think anyone can say yet whether Jaroslav Halak’s floppy- flopping and acrobatic outstretched toe-saves is indicative of an intentional style (like it was for Dominik Hasek), something he does to keep moving out of sheer desperation (like Arturs Irbe), or something in between (Tomas Vokoun).
Those goalies had storied careers and they lifted their teams (and/or countries) to heights they would not have otherwise reached. Halak may yet have that potential.
Or he could be something else entirely.
This is a breakout season for him, and the truth is, we’re all just starting to REALLY get to know him. But his style, if it is a style, is unorthodox – it makes my heart skip a beat, in a bad way – and it’s the kind of thing that could really go either way, or even, season to season (Irbe had some leans years).
In the meantime, let’s enjoy the ride and hope it lasts as long as possible. Because it sure is exciting to watch him.
UPDATE: From Habs I/O. Here’s Pierre McGuire, on Team 990: ‘Per Rick Curren, if Pleks isn’t signed by July 1st, he is gone’. Listen for yourself.
SIGN HIM BOB!!!!
2 comments ↓
I think he’s alot like Tim Thomas, a real competitor and that’s good. He’s on the small side and with the new equipment to be sized to the individual next season, we’ll have to wait and see if that will be problem or not.
As far as the posts go, I tend to believe that good goalies don’t give the shooter much to shoot at and since they stop most everything they see, the shooters have to pick corners hence more posts struck. When lucky they stay out, when not they go in.
As regards the rebounds, there are nights when a goalie swallows everything and nights when his concentration isn’t great resulting in more rebounds. There have been nights I’ve seen Brodeur, Miller and King Henry not control rebounds all that well. Luongo looked totally ordinary against the Habs and was “rested” against Ottawa, so I don’t worry about Halak’s rebound control. New Jersey clears a ton of rebounds for Marty. That’s the job of the defense, cut down on second chances and clear the net.
Unfortunately Halak’s heroics are costing the Habs a lottery pick possibility. If I’m the GM, I sign Halak, trade Price and try for a veteran backup to spell Jaro next year. Marty Biron was a great backup in Buffalo and is a great guy in the room. And he’s french and loves to play in Montreal.
But then I’m not married to Price as Gainey is. Price and pick for the Oiler’s first round pick?
Tim Thomas. That’s a great comparison. I didn’t think of that. Though Thomas is a bit more stationary, and he blossomed later in his career, but that’s a good one.
I’ve believed for awhile (and posted here) that I hope BG doesn’t trade either of his goalies. He just doesn’t have enough info to make an informed decision. They are both young and (relatively) cheap. So keep them both.
I would rather BG say goodbye to Spacek, Mara, MAB and Metro and use that money to sign Price and Halak (and, gulp, Pleks).
I know a lot of people are saying that the Habs can’t afford the luxury of two good goalies, and it’s a good point, but the Habs are TERRIBLE without these guys, Halak has never been the number 1, he’s never played the playoffs either.
What’s he like when the pressure is on, like it’s been on Price for three years?
So before giving Halak the keys to the car, let’s see how he drives.
Because this will be the biggest decision that BG will have to make in his Habs career. And imagine if he trades Price, and he becomes a monster himself – which is very possible.
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