Jaroslav Halak could be perfect stop-gap for Vegas Golden Knights

It is no secret that the Vegas Golden Knights could be on the hunt for a backup goalie during the off-season, and there will be a deep pool of solid options from which to pick from.

Boasting a future Hall of Famer in Marc-Andre Fleury, the Vegas Golden Knights have been blessed in the goaltending department from day one.

However, it has also acted as a curse in that the Golden Knights have really struggled to find an adequate deputy for Fleury.

Oscar Dansk and Dylan Ferguson probably aren’t the answer, while Malcolm Subban showed flashes of promise but could never really deliver on a consistent basis.

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Then, the Golden Knights appeared to hit an absolute home run out of the ballpark by sending Subban, along with prospect defenseman Slava Demin and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for Robin Lehner.

The audacious move automatically gave the Knights a lethal one-two punch between the pipes, arguably one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL, while boosting their hopes of making a deep postseason run.

It looked to be a stroke of genius by General Manager Kelly McCrimmon, with Lehner going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 Goals Against Average and a .940 Save Percentage in three starts for the Golden Knights.

Impressive stuff indeed.

But, there is a huge caveat at play here.

Lehner was a mere rental, a tactic the Golden Knights don’t usually employ, so the danger of the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy finalist walking as a free agent in the summer was a possibility.

The thinking from McCrimmon and the front office was that if Lehner could come in and help Vegas win a Stanley Cup, then giving away a role player, a prospect and a second-round pick would be more than a fair price to pay.

However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, there is now the real threat of Lehner leaving as a UFA having played just three games for the Golden Knights.

We’ve covered it in depth here so we won’t go over old ground but, in a nutshell, Lehner is likely going to want more than the $5 million average annual value he currently commands, which would rule the Knights out from re-signing the 28-year-old.

So, as a result, Vegas will need to dip their toes in the free agency market for a replacement and there could be a perfect solution out there.

Enter Jaroslav Halak.

The Boston Bruins goalie is due to hit the open market as an Unrestricted Free Agent this off-season, and his body of work over the last couple of years alone tells you all you need to know about the veteran’s undisputed quality.

He will arguably highlight the class of netminders set to hit free agency this summer, and we’ve mapped out the pros and cons for the Vegas Golden Knights rolling the dice on Jaroslav Halak…

Pros

Some additions just make perfect sense and signing Jaroslav Halak would come as close to perfection as possible for the Vegas Golden Knights.

For starters, Halak is a pending UFA and, should he hit the open market, the Golden Knights won’t need to part with an asset in order to add the veteran to their roster for 2020-21.

Then there is the small matter of just how good Halak has been for the Boston Bruins over the past couple of years.

Serving as Tuukka Rask‘s backup, Halak is like a No. 2 on steroids in that he has the ability to carry a lot of the workload, thus easing the stress and pressure on the starter.

A super-backup if you like.

Just take a look at the stats. In two years with the Bruins, Halak has started 66 games for Boston including 37 starts in 2018-19.

In that span, the 34-year-old has been impressive having posted a .921 Save Percentage and a 2.36 Goals Against Average with eight shutouts.

Basically, when Rask was hurt or needed a rest, Halak stepped into the breach and performed admirably for the Bruins.

That’s why Halak would tick all the boxes for the Golden Knights and be a perfect fit in Sin City as a 1B option.

He would be an ideal insurance policy and could almost split the load with Fleury, ensuring that the latter is as fresh for the postseason as possible.

There is also another positive factor behind why going after Halak in free agency would be a home run for the Golden Knights.

With Fleury now 35 and under contract through 2021-22, the dawn of a new era between the pipes is looming ever closer for Vegas.

That is scary for the front office given that there is really no clear heir apparent currently in the farm system.

However, by signing a veteran in the ilk of Halak, it would give General Manager Kelly McCrimmon the opportunity and the breathing space to go and either draft the future franchise goalie or explore free agency.

For example, reports have suggested that Russian stud Alexei Melnichuk has narrowed his list of desired destinations in North America down to four teams, with the Golden Knights among them.

We profiled the goalie here and, say if Vegas did roll the dice by signing Melnichuk to an entry-level contract, adding Halak as a backup would allow the former the time to develop and hone his craft in the AHL while being able to learn and study from two veteran goalies who are both at the top of their game.

Overall, given that the backup job has been a bit of a poisoned chalice for the Vegas Golden Knights, going after a proven backup who plays more like a starter in Jaroslav Halak would be a smart decision.

However, there is a major caveat at play here…

Cons

As with everything in life, money talks and it will play a major role in any potential deal for Jaroslav Halak.

Currently carrying a cap hit of $2,750,000, Halak is worth every penny given that he is more of a 1B than a traditional backup in the sense that he can be relied upon to make 30 plus starts a year.

Plus, at 34 years of age, there may well only be one more kick of the can left for Halak so he could be targeting one last payday.

If that’s the case then it could be difficult for the Golden Knights to make an attractive pitch to Halak.

After all, the lack of money is the major reason why Robin Lehner is likely to part company with the Golden Knights after just three games when he becomes a UFA in the summer.

The salary cap for 2020-21 is likely to remain at $81.5 million in the best case scenario in the wake of COVID-19.

As a result, the Knights would have around $11 million in cap space available in which to deal with eight pending free agents.

That pool includes fourth-line battering ram Ryan Reaves and pending RFA forwards Chandler Stephenson, Nicolas Roy and Nick Cousins, so Vegas won’t have a treasure chest of cap space in which to splurge on a backup.

Now, the slight positive at play is the fact that the Boston Bruins will also be restricted given that they have to try and re-sign stud defenseman Torey Krug and seven other pending free agents, including Halak.

So, if an offer wasn’t on the table from the Bruins, then Halak could be tempted into taking a pay cut in order to join the Golden Knights and chase the Stanley Cup, a championship that has so far proved elusive in the veteran’s career.

However, if there are a bevy of teams lining up for Halak’s services then the Golden Knights could be priced out of the bidding war early.