Jaroslav Halak Earns $2.25 Million Extension From Bruins

The Boston Bruins will have one of the league's best backup goalies for at least another year.

On Friday, the team announced that they have given veteran Jaroslav Halak a one-year contract extension worth $2.25 million. Halak was slated to become a free agent this summer.

Prior to the 2019-20 season pause, Halak had an 18-6-6 record with a .919 save percentage 2.39 and three shutouts. The Bruins were the top team in the NHL with a 44-14-12 record, good for 100 points.

Halak has been an excellent complement to No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask. In 2018-19, he went 22-11-4 with a .922 save percentage, 2.34 goals against average and five shutouts. The Bruins went all the way to the Stanley Cup, losing to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.

Though Halak didn't play in the postseason last year, he deserves plenty of credit for helping keep Rask fresh. That was the case again in 2019-20, with Rask enjoying perhaps his best season yet.

With Halak now signed, the Bruins just under $670,000 in cap space, according to CapFriendly.com. Boston still has to re-sign top-four blueliner Torey Krug, captain Zdeno Chara (if the 43-year-old decides to play another year) and top-six forward Jake DeBrusk (a pending RFA).

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Halak spent his first four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens (2006-07 to 2009-10), mainly as a backup for Carey Price. Halak was the start for Montreal in the 2010 postseason, helping them make a shocking run to the Eastern Conference Final - where they were dispatched by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Rask and Halak formed by far the top goaltending duo in the NHL during the 2019-20 season. Rask has also talked about possibly retiring after the 2020-21 season, and if that's the case, the Bruins might explore a multi-year extension for Halak next year.

Halak owns a 272-167-58 record, a 2.48 goals against average and .916 save percentage. Now that he's extended, the Bruins can focus on working out new deals with Krug, Chara and/or DeBrusk.

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