With Jaroslav Halak’s new extension, Bruins benefit in value & security at netminder position

One of the top goalie tandems in the NHL is sticking around for another season. 

In a surprise announcement Friday evening, the Bruins announced that Jaroslav Halak has signed a one-year contract extension for the 2020-21 season with an annual cap hit of $2.25 million. According to Elliotte Friedman, Halak is also eligible for performance bonuses totaling $1.25 million if he appears in 10 games next year. 

Halak, who signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with Boston back on July 1, 2018, has been a key cog in the Bruins' success since his arrival — establishing himself as one of the most effective backup netminders in the NHL. Perhaps more importantly, Halak's play has also given Boston the flexibility it needs to limit Tuukka Rask's workload ahead of a postseason push.

Halak, who turns 35 on May 13, appeared in 31 games with Boston this season, posting an 18-6-6 record with three shutouts, a 2.39 goals-against average and .919 save percentage (good for sixth in the NHL). In his first season with Boston in 2018-19, Halak went 22-11-4 over 40 appearances, posting five shutouts, a 2.34 goals against average and .921 save percentage.

BSJ Analysis: 

Man, this is a fantastic deal for the Bruins — for a number of reasons.

From a fiscal standpoint, a $2.25 million base salary is a steal for a netminder that has excelled as one of the top backup goalies in the league over the last few seasons. Given Halak's history as a regular NHL starter and the production he put forward over these two seasons, I felt as though it was inevitable that a team was going to hand him a significant pay raise in free agency — with more minutes and reps guaranteed.

But by remaining as Rask's backup in Boston for at least another season, Halak is putting himself in great position once again to contend for a Stanley Cup, while still securing himself a steady workload.

In terms of cap management, it still remains to be seen just what the upper limit will be next season, but given the massive losses in revenue this season, it would seem likely that a flat cap of $81.5 million could remain intact for the next season or two. If that's the case, the Bruins are now projected to have around $18 million available at the start of free agency with Halak back in tow. If the NHL offers measures to ease financial burdens such as compliance buyouts, it could free up even more capital for the Bruins as they look to re-up UFAs like Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara — along with RFAs like Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk and Anders Bjork.

In terms of on-ice performance, the Bruins have to be doing somersaults that they locked up a player like Halak at such value.

Among netminders that have logged at least 3,000 minutes of ice time over the last two seasons, Halak ranks:

5th in save percentage (.921)
8th in goals saved above average (23.25)
4th in high-danger save percentage (.845)

Not too shabby for a guy making $2.25 million next year.

But Halak's greatest value is the luxury that his stellar play provides Bruce Cassidy and his staff when it comes to keeping Rask fresh for postseason play. Halak's arrival paid immediate dividends last year, with Rask limited to just 45 games played — ranking as his fewest since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (36 games played). If we only want to include a full, 82-game slate, it was Rask’s lightest stretch since both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons — where he was still a backup to Tim Thomas.

With Halak spelling Rask for extended stretches during the 2018-19 regular season, the Bruins' top netminder orchestrated an impressive run during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs posting a .934 save percentage and two shutouts over 24 postseason outings. A re-energized Rask continued to build off last year's run this season, placing himself at the forefront of Vezina Trophy debates off of a .929 save percentage and five shutouts through 41 starts this year. Expect both Rask and the Bruins to continue to reap the benefits that Halak's stability provides to hockey's most crucial position.

Halak's return also gives the Bruins added flexibility in terms of allowing a promising pool of goalie prospects additional time to round out their game before getting the call up to the NHL ranks. There's plenty of intriguing potential worth monitoring next season down the pipeline, given both Dan Vladar's strong finish to the year in Providence (.936 save percentage in 25 games) and the signing of Hobey Baker finalist and Hockey East Player of the Year Jeremy Swayman to his entry-level contract last month.

While it could have been tempting to see how a youngster like Vladar could have handled an NHL role next season, the return of Halak gives these youngsters, including Kyle Keyser down in the ECHL, an extra year to work on their craft without having to rush them ahead of their development timeline. If anything, Providence should feature a riveting netminder competition between Swayman and Vladar — which can only benefit all parties as Boston looks to find Rask's eventual successor in the coming years.

Add all of it together, and for the first time in a long time, we finally have some positive news to report on. Because Don Sweeney hit another home run with this one.