Update 11:58am: this post is updated to reflect that Jean-Francois Berube could become a Group 6 Unrestricted Free Agent if he fails to play in at least 19 more games this season
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.
Jaroslav Halak is the odd man out in the New York Islanders organization, and the likelihood of the goaltender being an Islander come opening puck drop next season is slim. The Islanders indicated who they want starting in net going forward by signing Thomas Greiss to a three-year contract extension worth $3.33MM a year. Halak’s $4.5MM contract has little place in the Islanders’ plans.
Contract
Halak has one more left on a $4.5MM a year contract. Signed in 2014, Halak’s actual salary increases each year—from $3.5MM in 2014 to $5.0MM next season. The Isles are still on the hook for a $3.55MM cap hit after burying Halak in the AHL. NHL teams only receive up to a $925K cap reprieve for players sent to the AHL.
2016-17
Halak’s stats this year are the worst of his career. In 21 games for the Islanders he sports a .904 SV% and a 3.23 GAA. That’s a far cry from last year’s .919 SV% and 2.30 GAA. Since being sent down to the AHL, however, Halak has posted a .927 SV% and a 2.03 GAA—good for 2nd among goalies with at least seven starts.
It did not help when the Islanders decided to carry three goalies this season. Along with Halak, the Islanders had the aforementioned Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube. The situation got so tenuous that Allan Walsh, agent for both Halak and Berube, tweeted his displeasure.
Season Stats
21 games: 6-8-5, .905 SV%, 3.23 GAA, 1 SO
Potential Suitors
The market for expensive veteran goaltenders decreases every year as teams realize young replacement level goaltenders provide more upside than goaltenders on a downward trend. That being said, GMs still value proven commodities as insurance in case a starter goes down during a post-season run. The question is whether Halak’s cap hit is too rich for interested teams.
The other option open to the Islanders is a team requiring a goaltender to expose in the NHL expansion draft this summer. Unfortunately for the Islanders, every team but one has already addressed that need. The lone remaining team—the Minnesota Wild—are unlikely to add a $4.5MM goaltender with almost $6MM on the books with two capable goaltenders. Should Devan Dubnyk go down, the Wild have confidence that Darcy Kuemper is up to the task. The Wild will most likely sign Alex Stalock to a contract prior to the draft so the team can meet the exposure requirements.
One option is trading Halak and a draft pick for the cap space. Teams like the Buffalo Sabres and the Calgary Flames could stash Halak on their roster if they received reasonable draft pick compensation for the additional salary obligation. Both teams have no goaltending contracts past this season.
Likelihood Of A Trade
A victim of circumstances, Halak’s stats show a goalie who may provide solid—if not incredible—goaltending for a team willing to take the risk that this season’s performance is an aberration rather than indicative of Halak’s current ability. A trade for any usable returns is unlikely, but a trade could be had if the Islanders want to shed salary and gain cap space.
If the Islanders do trade Halak, they will have to qualify AHL goaltender Christopher Gibson to meet the NHL Expansion Draft goaltender exposure requirements. The requirements state that a team must expose one goalie who is either 1) signed for 2017-18, or 2) an RFA at the end of this season that received a Qualifying Offer.
At first glance, the Isles seem to meet this requirement with Jean-Francois Berube, but an eagle-eyed reader caught that Berube may be eligible for Group 6 unrestricted free agency. Any goaltender 25 or older becomes a UFA if they have three or more years of professional experience but less than 28 NHL games played. And because the CBA only counts NHL games as starts 30 minutes or longer, Berube only has 9 NHL games played in his career. That means Berube will be a UFA if he plays 18 games or less from here on out.
Admittedly I have not looked too deeply into the Isles roster but don’t they need Halak for expansion purposes? From what I understand, Berube is likely to be a UFA because he won’t hit a certain game threshold to keep his RFA Eligibility(pretty sure their was article here about it). And all of the Isles other minor league goalies don’t meet the requirements set out by the NHL since they’re 1st or 2nd year pro’s.
Doc, the Expansion Draft rules require that each team expose a goalie that is either a) signed through 2017- 2018, or b) an RFA at the end of this year that has received a Qualifying Offer. Both Jean-Francois Berube and Christopher Gibson are RFAs at season’s end, so as long as NYI qualifies one of them, the team is fine.
The Chris Johnston tweet I was using as reference last night said that exposed goalies needed to have X amount of NHL games the previous 2 seasons but it turns out that tweet was from before the official rules were released. Weird oversight by the NHL if you ask me.
As for Berube, he’s technically RFA eligible right now but needs 24 more appearances(out of 35 remaining games) to maintain that eligibility otherwise he becomes UFA. It took a bit of digging but I found the article it was referenced in.
link to prohockeyrumors.com
You’re correct. Berube is in fact on path to become a Group 6 Unrestricted Free Agent. Under the CBA, any goalie 25 and older can become a UFA after his contract expires if he’s played less than 28 NHL games over his career. Berube has 9 eligible games (the rest were under 30min), so he will be eligble to become a UFA if he plays in 18 games or less this season. If the Isles use a tandem, they could conceivably allow Berube to hit that mark.
This raises an interesting point, though. Berube will not become a UFA until after his contract expires. Does the NHL consider him an RFA until July first when CBA Section 10.1(c) kicks in?
In the end, the point is moot because Christopher Gibson meets the exposure requirements, but I’ll update the post to reflect Berube’s potential unrestricted free agency.
I’d assume, and I could be completely off on this, that Berube would be reflected as a UFA once the season ends if he doesn’t hit the necessary requirements. I don’t even remember the last time this kind of issue was brought up with a player who has spent almost 2 full years on an NHL roster.
Still find it weird that the NHL went to such length to try and ensure solid NHL talent is available for Vegas yet they seemingly skimped out on goalie requirements.
But wouldn’t be such a Garth Snow move to somehow trade Halak and non-tender Gibson right before the Expansion Draft? Lol