The author of perhaps the most painful playoff defeat in the Alex Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals era is calling it a wrap on his professional hockey career.
Jaroslav Halak, the owner of games played in 17 different NHL seasons, announced his retirement in an interview with Slovak reporter Tomas Prokop on Friday. Halak infamously put on an unbelievable performance during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, carrying the Montreal Canadiens to two consecutive, seven-game playoff series victories over the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Throughout his entire career, Halak appeared in 581 total games, posting a 295-189-69 record with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, and 53 shutouts.
Halak played for seven different NHL franchises, starting with the Canadiens during the 2006-07 campaign and then later joining the St. Louis Blues, Capitals, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Rangers. He played his final game for the Rangers on April 13, 2023, a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The veteran netminder signed a professional tryout agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the 2023-24 season but was released from it before signing a deal with the club.
“Last year, I completed summer training,” Halak told Prokop, as translated via Google Translate. “I wanted to go on the ice in Boston, but when nothing came of it, I told myself it was pointless. After that, I didn’t even try anymore.
“I’m officially ending my career. I would like to thank my family, friends, fans, and especially my wife Petra, who has been by my side my entire career.”
Halak’s signature work of his career came for the Habs during the team’s oft-spoken-about 2010 first-round series against the Capitals. The Caps were the Presidents’ Trophy winners and an offensive juggernaut led by a 24-year-old Ovechkin, who had 109 points (50g, 59a) in 72 games coming into the postseason.
The then-24-year-old goalie played in six of the series’s seven games, going 4-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a staggering .939 save percentage. Halak’s crowning victory was his 53-save effort in Game 6, which Montreal won 4-1.
Halak would later join the Capitals at the 2014 trade deadline, coming over from the Buffalo Sabres, who had acquired him from the Blues just five days prior. The Caps sent goaltender Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla to Buffalo for Halak and a third-round draft pick.
Halak would get into 12 games for the Capitals, posting a 5-4-3 record with a 2.31 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage, and one shutout. He started his career in DC wearing his Blues equipment and a plain, white mask before eventually getting a Caps-themed mask designed for him.
The Slovak netminder later created headlines when Capitals head coach Adam Oates told the media that Halak wasn’t comfortable starting against his former team, the Blues. Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, then publicly criticized Oates for his carelessness in revealing what was thought to be a private conversation.
At the beginning stages of the 2014 offseason, the Capitals traded Halak, a pending UFA, to the Islanders for a fourth-round draft pick. He would immediately match up with the Capitals in the first round of the 2015 playoffs, but was unable to clinch another Game 7 victory as the Caps knocked out the Isles.
You’ve brought us a lot of pain, but from everyone at RMNB, congratulations on a great career, Jaro!
