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New York Islanders: Jaroslav Halak’s Ranking Is Fitting

By Matt O'Leary
Jan 25, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (41) during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center. Detroit Red Wings won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (41) during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center. Detroit Red Wings won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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In a year that ended due to injury New York Islanders Goalie Jaroslav Halak’s ranking among the other NHL starting Goalies is fitting.

In Jaroslav Halak‘s first year with the New York Islanders he was fantastic. He set the franchise record for most wins in a season (38) and he also holds the record for the most consecutive wins (11). He’s been a good addition to the Islanders in his two years here.

Sports Illustrated ranked the top 30 starting goalies in the NHL. Halak fell right in the middle of the pack at 15. This is fitting for him.

Halak is a guy you can win with but he’s not someone who will be looked at as a premiere goalie in the league. He’s not bad, he’s not great, he falls somewhere in the middle.

That’s why the rank of 15th is actual perfect for him. As the article said “He’s a reliable mid-level option”. That about sums it up. Some will argue saying that he had a bad year in 2015-16. He wasn’t 2014-15 Jaro but he was serviceable nonetheless.

His save percentage actually went up from .914 to .919 and even his GAA went from 2.43 to 2.30 which are both improvements.

What made last year seem different was the Islanders having a reliable backup. That’s something the Islanders haven’t really had in a long time and certainly something that was missing from Jaro’s first year in blue and orange.

It felt like Halak was a workhorse in 2014-15 because he was, he played a ton. He played a career high 59 games. Last year, keep in mind his injury, he played in 36 games.

The Islanders had the luxury of being able to ride the hot hand with the combo of Halak and Thomas Greiss. Whoever was playing better at the time got more playing time.

The strong play of backup Thomas Greiss has raised the question if the Islanders still even need Halak. I’m a little old school so I go by the expression “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” The Islanders had a 1a and 1b goalie situation last year and it worked wonders.

I don’t want to mess with that if I don’t have. As we saw last year injuries happen, would you feel comfortable with J.F. Berube as the goalie if Greiss went down and Jaro was gone?

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I definitely see both sides to this argument of whether Halak is necessary or not, but for now I wouldn’t mess with it. His rank at 15th is fitting and the Isles should hold on to that.

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