Halak was shipped to St.
As a pending restricted free agent, Halak was
chuli shipped to St. Louis on June 17 in a trade with the Habs in exchange for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
Halak played his first NHL tilt for the Habs on Feb. 18, 2007 three days prior to being called up by Montreal following an injury to Cristobal Huet.
The 5-foot-11, 179 pound native of Bratislava, Slovakia backstopped the Canadiens to a surprising run to the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals.
During the regular season, he split playing time with Carey Price, but hit his stride in the playoffs this spring.
Halak won a pair of Game 7’s in the playoffs, helping the Habs topple Washington, which had the best record in the league, and Pittsburgh, the defending Stanley Cup champions.
He was 26-13-5 with a 2.40 goals-against average (GAA) and five shutouts for Montreal during the regular season.
His GAA ranked ninth in the NHL and his .940 save percentage was rated fourth-best in the league.
The addition of Halak is expected to boost the bid of the
chuli Blues, who finished the 2009-10 season in fourth spot in Central with a 40-32-10 mark. St. Louis did not qualify for the postseason.
