Just a few minutes ago, GM Bob Gainey Pierre Gauthier moved Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospects Ian Schultz and Lars Eller.
Eller may be NHL ready at this point, registering 57 points in 70 games with the Blues’ farm team– the Peoria Rivermen. Known mostly for his playmaking and on-ice vision while in the AHL, the 21-year-old managed two goals in seven games with the big club. He comes with a draft pedigree of the 13th overall pick and may receive a top six role this season with Montreal.
Schultz, on the other hand, still plays in Juniors. He played an excellent season for the Calgary Hitmen in which they almost won the Memorial Cup. At 20-years-old he needs to work on his skating and is mostly known for his grit and tendency to drop the gloves.
Original reports out of Montreal claimed David Perron and the 14th overall pick would be the return, which would actually be a decent haul. Time will tell on this one, but it looks great for St. Louis– who hardly gave up any part of their current roster.
Halak is yet to sign a contract with St. Louis but he will be a RFA for two more years. As we mentioned previously, he managed to stop 50+ shots on numerous occasions so any defense in front of him will look better because of him.
Watch the +/- of most Montreal players plummet due to this.
Carey Price receives a gigantic boost in value although he may need to look over his shoulder at Cedric Desjardins. Still Halak proved himself as the better of the two Habs starters at this point leaving plenty of room for Price to grow back into the primary role this season.
