Former NHLer Jaroslav Halak retires after 17 seasons

One of the more underrated netminders of his day has officially hung up his pads.

It was reported on Friday that former NHL goaltender Jaroslav Halak has announced his retirement.

Halak last played during the 2022-23 season, backing up Igor Shesterkin as a member of the New York Rangers. The Slovakian backstop’s career spans across 17 NHL seasons, seemingly making an impact wherever he went.

Originally taken in the ninth round of the 2003 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, Halak managed to work his way up the depth chart, eventually becoming a full-time NHLer during the 2008-09 season behind Carey Price. Halak reached stardom during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, taking the starting job from Price and leading the Canadiens on an improbable run. Behind the stellar play of their goaltender, the Habs took down the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in the first round, before eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Though the team fell short of the final, losing to the also-surprising Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final, Halak made it known that he can be a No. 1 netminder in the NHL.

With two starting goaltenders, Montreal elected to trade Halak to the St. Louis Blues. During a fruitful three-plus seasons with the Blues, Halak won his first of two Jennings Trophies in 2012.

After St. Louis acquired Ryan Miller in February 2014, Halak was on the move again, initially being traded to the Buffalo Sabres before being flipped to the Capitals before the trade deadline. That following summer, the Bratislava native was on the move again, signing with the New York Islanders. He helped the team make it to the playoffs twice during his tenure with the club, sharing the net with Thomas Greiss.

After a couple of tough seasons, Halak found a new home, signing with the Boston Bruins. Along with fellow veteran Tuukka Rask, the duo became one of the best tandems in the NHL in a time when teams slowly started to stray away from a traditional 1-2 setup with their netminders. The two brought home the Jennings Trophy in 2019-20, with Halak playing the bulk of the playoff games after Rask exited the bubble.

Halak’s final two seasons were spent with the Vancouver Canucks and Rangers.

In 581 regular-season games, Halak posted a record of 295-189-69, with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and 53 shutouts. He went 17-20 in 39 postseason contests, registering a 2.48 GAA and a .919 SV%.

Along with a substantial NHL career, Halak had a great amount of experience on the international stage. Along with winning the silver medal at the 2003 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, where he helped Slovakia win silver, he represented his country at the IIHF World Junior Championship twice, as well as three IIHF Men’s World Championships. He played for Team Slovakia at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, famously helping Team Europe reach the final at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.