Bruins opted for more experience with backup goaltender Halak

Anton Khudobin contended that he wasn’t putting on the spin-o-rama when he talked about how much he loved Boston.

“I’ve been in a lot of cities and a lot of states, and Boston is my favorite one,” Khudobin said after the season ended. “That’s clearly, and it’s not because I want to give it a shot, or try to say I’m so nice, I’m going to just sign here … Don [Sweeney] knows that I love it here. I love the city and everybody knows it. How much is it going to be a factor in signing a new contract, I don’t know. I don’t think it will be a factor. I don’t think it matters. It matters what they can offer, and how much I’m willing to take.”

Those statements foreshadowed what played out when the free agency period got closer. It seemed almost certain that Khudobin, the Bruins backup in his second stint for the last two seasons, was coming back to compliment Tuukka Rask. As the days carried by, the talks between Sweeney and Khudobin’s camp never quite heated up.

By the time the interview period approached, Khudobin was talking to different teams. He signed with the Dallas Stars for two years and $2.5 million annually, more than what the Bruins were willing to offer. Sweeney answered by signing veteran Jaroslav Halak to a two-year deal worth $2.75 million annually.

It was surprising nonetheless that the Bruins didn’t budge on Khudobin, but shelled out $500,000 more for Halak. What gives?

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Khudobin had perhaps his best season as a backup last year when he went 16-6-7 with a .913 save percentage – his highest since 2013-14 when he was with the Hurricanes.

The 32-year-old was solid when Rask struggled earlier in the year and help the Bruins pull through the first two months of the season when he went 7-0-2.

He made $1.2 million last season and doubled his salary with his new deal.

For that type of pay bump, the Bruins wanted more certainty which was why they sprung for Halak. The 33-year-old played 54 games last year for the Islanders and has played 449 games over his 12-year career. Khudobin, by comparison, has 147 to his resume.

Halak has been the starter in places such as Montreal and St. Louis, in addition to his most recent four-year stint with the Islanders.

“We looked at that signing from every angle,” Sweeney said last Sunday. “He’s had playoff experience. I just don’t think you can win in this league without having a complement each and every night. You can’t get to where you want to get to. Anton was a great complement, but again, you come out at the start of the season and your number one goaltender is not there, you better be darn sure your backup is. Where we sit now, Jaro’s carried the ball with another team – he’s had months where he’s played 10 games. He’s had usually about 26, at least, starts. That fits into what we’re trying to expect from what the goaltender tandem needs to happen going forward.”

According to Sweeney, the Bruins “got to a point where we felt we weren’t closing a deal and we had gone through the goalie list and Anton wasn’t going to be and there was kind of a breaking point that we felt we should be exploring if there were that could come in and do an equal if not a better job with more experience.”

Managing Rask’s workload has been a challenge the last few seasons. From 2014-17, he averaged 66 games for three straight seasons. The Bruins were finally able to lower that number to 54 last season.

Moving forward, the Bruins would like to soften Rask’s workload even more to keep him fresh later in the season.

Halak struggled last season with the Islanders’ dicey defense and his .908 save percentage was his worst since 2012-13. The Islanders were dead last on the penalty kill and Halak’s save percentage suffered because of it.

The Bruins are a top penalty-killing team and the hope is that will help. Perhaps Halak will even push Rask in the final three years of his deal that will pay him $7 million annually.

“I’ll try to help out any way I can,” Halak said. “I’ll try to fit in as soon as possible. We’ll see what happens. I’m 33, I know Tuukka is a little younger than me. I’m just looking forward to be with him. I know he’s an elite goalie and he proved that every year. Every time I get the chance, I’ll try to help out and we’ll see what happens.

On paper, the move looks good. Having an established backup also gives prospects Dan Vladar and Jeremy Swayman more time to develop. Only time will tell if the Bruins have solved their backup goaltending, which has been inconsistent over the last four seasons.