Trade Rumors: What if Halak/Price Move?

No need for links, one of these goalies needs to go.

For the sake of playing time, cap-ology and most of all because Jaroslav Halak beat both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals almost singlehandedly.  He simply will not be a backup any longer and is considered a top five goaltender league wide.

We also all know the story by now.  The Montreal Canadiens took Carey Price as the goalie of their future with their 5th overall pick in 2005. He then would go on to win the WHL and CHL goalie of the year before moving on to Hamilton and winning the Calder Cup.  In short, the kid defines pedigree.

Halak, on the other hand, was selected by the Habs in the 9th round of the 2003 draft.  In other words, the Habs expected little to nothing from their pick.  They did not include him in their plans until he made them by standing on his head almost every night.

While goalies like Evgeni Nabokov and Marc Andre Fleury fail to play well for excellent teams, Halak carried his team beyond their wildest expectations.

So this backstory leads us to our next burning questions (followed by our bold fantasy analysis).

If Halak were moved, how would he do?

It would be hard to imagine him facing more shots on a contending team like Philadelphia or San Jose.  He appears to be the netminder who will work on any team as he basically showed during the Olympic games.

Verdict:  If Halak moves to any other team, fantasy owners will still win owning him.

If Price were moved, how would he do?

If he stays he better enjoy his view from the bench.  With a netminder the caliber of Halak, a goalie rotation clearly would not be beneficial to either party.  Although Bob Gainey probably will fetch more by dangling his Slovak, he would be foolish to move a player so special.  Price cannot have a lower fantasy value by staying with the Habs.

Verdict:  The only loser in this situation is the goalie Price would replace.