Halak Inks Four-Year Deal

Finally, Halak is officially a member of the St. Louis Blues. Acquired in a trade with Montreal that sent Lars Eller packing, the Blues obtained the rights to Halak but still needed to work out a contract with the goaltender. Today, Halak signed a four-year deal signaling that the Blues have officially acquired their man in net.

Gone are the days of the Blues targeting a veteran netminder that has likely seen his best days pass by. Gone are the days of having two backups and no clear starter. Welcome to the Jaroslav Halak era.

Sure, the trade went down a while back but the Blues still were faced with the task of signing their goaltender now that they had the rights to him. Today the club announced that Halak has signed a four-year deal.

The deal works out like this:

2010-11: $2.75 million
2011-12: $3.50 million
2012-13: $4.25 million
2013-14: $4.50 million

Average cap hit = $3.75 million

Clearly, the Blues feel that Halak has what it takes to be their man for years to come, and have designed a deal built to reward his expected improvement as the years pass by.