The goaltending issue in Montreal

[Snayr]

Over the past couple years there have been many discussions about rebound control, and positioning, etc. Many of the discussions were to criticize Halak for his rebound control, and how he lacked in that department. Well, now the tides have turned, and Halak is the one with great fundamentals all around this season, while Price is constantly out of position - thus causing massive rebounds (as witnessed tonight) resulting in goals.

We've seen Price for 3 seasons, and we can all openly say that he has definitely regressed throughout the 3 seasons. Personally I don't think he has the motivation or the maturity to be an NHL goaltender at this time. We've all seen the pictures of his nights on the town/vacations/etc... we all saw his "Patrick Roy salute" (I got to see it live - that was a joy) last year in Game 4 of the playoffs vs. the Bruins. We saw him leave warm-up early instead of taking shots because he wasn't starting the game, etc etc.

Halak on the other hand has only gotten better over the years as a member of the Canadiens organization. He carried us to a near playoff birth (which would have happened most likely if he hadn't been screwed over and bumped by Huet). He brought Hamilton to the Calder Cup (though he got bumped by Price for the play-offs), and he's only continued to get better over the past couple seasons. You can argue that he's played vs. weaker teams, and that it's not the same as Price playing vs. tougher teams... however every team in this league is a threat night in and night out. There was the stretch where those "weaker teams" should have destroyed us had it not been for Halaks week of 40+ stop heroics.

What if Price had played? Maybe he would have won, sure... but with his track record of letting in atleast one softie/game, that would have been the difference in most of those games! Lets not forget Price's inability to pull off a shutout in quite some time now, whereas Halak has 2 thus far this season in fewer games. Not to mention what was once Halaks kryptonite has now become one of his strengths in comparison to Price... rebound control!

I know Carey Price is Bob Gaineys golden boy, and he has all but screwed Price up on his own on bringing him in way too early, but I really don't see him being able to recover under the pressure of Montreal. I honestly think it would be best for both parties to part ways, and trade Price for a legitimate return. You can't argue against the fact that Halak at this time is the superior goaltender, can you? If you can, you've been hanging around Bob Gainey way too much - or maybe you drink the same koolaid, I don't know. What it comes down to is the fact that we need to do whats best for the Canadiens organization, and that would entail getting the best return possible for one of our young 'tenders. Price would still fetch more because of his "potential" but that amount of potential is dwindling every day longer that we keep him w/ the Habs.

Anyways, you can flame me all you want, but some of you have to open your eyes. I believe that Carey Price is going to be an amazing goalie in this league, and I think Halak is going to be a great goalie for years to come as well. In the end I believe Price is going to be the better goalie, but it's not going to happen in Montreal. In the end, we have to do what's best for the Montreal Canadiens.

[Snayr]

Very solid back to back outings from Halak vs. two above .500 teams in NJ and NYR. So now I hopefully don't have to listen to the idiotic Price junkies claiming Halak ONLY gets wins vs. sub-par teams.

[sh00n]

Fact is, the team plays very differently when Price is in nets compared to when Halak is in. And right now, Martin is ****ing around with Carey's confidence to the max when he makes him sit 5 games, puts him in once expecting a shutout (like tonight against Tampa), and we get shut out instead. What happens after? He goes back to Halak and expects Price to pull a rabbit out of his hat 5 games later. At this point, with the way we're playing, I'd rather have both guys playing so we can try to get both of them at a high level going into the second half of the season.

The thing with Montreal is, they're ****ting on Price consistently, only because of what they know he can be, and where he was drafted. If Halak was the one drafted 5th overall, it would be him getting buried by the fans and media. And the thing is, if something occurs with Price getting traded and we bring up Sanford, if Halak starts losing next season and Price starts killing it again (and he would), everybody's gonna burn Gainey at the stake complaining that they all KNEW Price was the better goalie long term.

Me personally, I prefer Price. And I prefer him because he gets **** on really unfairly in Montreal whereas Halak can do no wrong, even when we lose. And it's ****ing pathetic that people act like that. In a dream world, I'd want both Price and Halak re-signed long term and have them split the playing time 50/50. But that's not going to happen. And the way they're playing right now, Price might generate more interest from more teams, but Halak will get you the biggest return RIGHT NOW. And for that, I'd prefer to trade Halak because 1) It'll show Carey that the organization trusts him and it'll most likely finally throw a boost to his confidence, 2) You bring in a veteran back up like a Ty Conklin to mentor Carey when he's going through a rough stretch, and for ****'s sake, hire Patrick Roy - whether it be as a goaltending coach or an assistant, and 3) It'll light a fire under everyone's ass. Screwing over Laraque and sending down Patch and Dago was supposed to do that, but obviously something bigger has to be done. Gainey needs to shop Halak and demand that the team that makes a move for him, takes back Gomez too. If that means including Pleks as well to get a re-signed long term Kovalchuk, do it. If it means making another run at Vinny, do it. This team needs a big time, go to player. And right now, Halak will get you that kind of return, Price won't.