Jaroslav Halak obviously did not see the movie ‘Meet me in St. Louis’…
Halak instead ‘met’ an estimated crowd of 6,000 at a mall in the suburban city of Pointe Claire, Quebec. The last time a ‘visiting player ‘ was accepted with such love was when Guy Lafleur returned with the Rangers and once more with the Quebec Nordiques. Can we start referring to Halak as ‘ Le Demon Sans Cheveaux?’
The massive crowd turned up with twenty dollars in their pockets to have the 2009 -10 playoff hero sign their broken hearts.All the money went to charity and no – that does not mean Carey Price.
Halak was scheduled to sign autographs from 2pm – 4 pm yet due to the size and excitement of the crowd, he was still signing as the surrounding stores commenced locking their doors well past 5pm. A large denomination of the crowd were young teenage girls who drowned out any announcements of Halak’s plans. When he finally did stop signing shirts, photos and pretty much anything that was thrown his way – Halak made his way into the mall and thanked the throngs of people still waiting to get an autograph much to the delight of the masses.
He was not wearing any team colors – Habs or Blues.
Is the Price right…?
Jaro is making it difficult for the Habs management to move on with their decision to let him go and appoint Price as their starting goalie for the next two seasons. The way Halak was received – perhaps the Canadiens could swing a trade with the Blues? Straight up – Price for Halak….!?
Bare with me…
Halak and Price are not doing well in their respective towns…Price is being booed so maliciously that he demands a trade. Halak meanwhile is singing the ‘blues’ in St.Louis and playing way below his capability in a city that doesn’ t feed him the energy he needs to compete. St.Louis gladly would like to rid themselves of Halak’s contract and by adding Price they save money on a goalie that will excel away from the media attention.
Montreal are more than willing to pay 3.75 million to a goalie who deserves it and by this time – they must pull out all stops because the Bell Center faithful are on the brink of doing a ‘ Richard Riot ‘ impersonation. Simple. Like the plot for the Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers on a Train – ‘you do my murder, I’ll do yours…’
At the end of the 2011 – 12 season, Price (St.Louis) and Halak (Montreal) meet in the Stanley Cup final as the Habs win their twenty-fifth Stanley Cup. Price outplays Halak to win the Conn Smythe trophy and brings St.Louis to respectability.
Jaroslav is in town tonight to face Carey ( chill – out ) Price and the 2012 unbeaten Canadiens de Montreal. The two goalies have both played great for their respective clubs. Price has yet to prove he can carry a team on his back – when it counts ! Halak’s ‘ghost’ will be the latest in a long line of ghouls haunting a Canadien’s hockey arena. This time however – the referee’ s calls may not be in the Habs favor.
Even if the teams meet in St. Louis …
If you would like to share your encounter with Jaroslav – email me at keenerick@hotmail.cm
————————————————————————-
The Hockey Writers , Habs Eye on the Prize and Knuckles will set you straight !
Former St Louis Blue GM and Habs assistant GM Ron Caron passed away – he was 82.
As GM in St Louis – Caron’s Blues made the play – offs in every season he was at the helm. Sam Pollock will get his right hand man back in heaven !
Rick Keene ' s Le Forum de Montreal 
stockspyder
/ January 12, 2012Halak was incredible that year, I still believe in Price but it’s not easy forgetting what Halak did that year.
Rick Keene
/ January 12, 2012Yes – it is true . the Habs took a gamble based on Price’s size, age and history of being calm….we will only know what was the right decision in about ten years from now.
stockspyder
/ January 13, 2012And now the other hero of that run is gone, looks like Cammy’s comments got him a one way ticket out of town. I like Rene Bourque but I really hate the trade.. what do you think Rick?
Rick Keene
/ January 13, 2012I think the Habs are behaving as caricatures of themselves. Much like the Yankees of the 70’s. The show is more important than the roadies.
There is one way out of this in my opinion. Bring back Serge Savard to manage and put Roy behind the bench.Savard is the one person Roy will listen to and Roy will instill fear into the players.
They are both French and no matter how ridiculous the french issue is – two respected francophones will allow the team peace as it re-builds.
Thanks for reading eh?