It’s Time For Jaroslav Halak To Retire
The New York Rangers have predictably come back down to earth. If you ask the rest of the Vendetta NHL Slackmates, they will tell you that I’ve been one of the biggest haters when it comes to the Rangers. There are a lot of factors why the Rangers are crashing back down to a mid-tier team in 2022. One very obvious reason starts and ends with the dreadful in net performance of Jaroslav Halak.
Igor Shesterkin’s numbers are all down in 2022 but when you combine the loss of Alexandar Georgiev, it’s been devastating. After making the Eastern Conference a year ago, New York is in danger of even making the postseason. The Rangers are 11-10-5 on the season sitting 5th in the Metro. Even the Rangers don’t fix the Halak issue, they won’t make the playoffs.
The Rangers either need to for Halak off the roster or someone needs to tell him to retire. Either way works. This is now a third straight season where Halak has been awful and the signs have all been there pointing to his decline.
Halak, 37, currently sports a record of 1-6-1. Add in that gross .888 SV% and you now understand why I’m being a hater. The smart people already knew Halak had nothing when he did virtually the same thing in Vancouver a year ago. The only difference is, this time you can’t blame that horrible Canucks blue line defense. In 2021 with Vancouver and 2020 with Boston, Halak posted -1.8 and -1.6 respectively in goals saved above expected.
If you have noticed by now, the Rangers’ decline really starts with Halak. When your punting games every time the backup takes the crease, it’s hard to be a really good hockey team over the course of an 82 game season. Your eyes don’t lie. The numbers don’t lie. With all due respect, it’s time for Halak to ride off into the sunset.
Your move Rangers. I’m not really sure what you’re waiting for. The longer you wait, the more damage will be done.
