Report: Rangers and Jaroslav Halak have talked extension
The New York Rangers and backup Jaroslav Halak have had some early conversations regarding a contract extension.
In Pierre LeBrun’s latest column for The Athletic (subscription required), Allan Walsh noted his client wants to play in the NHL next season.
“We’ve had some preliminary conversations with the New York Rangers about the future but the focus on their end has been on hiring a head coach,” Walsh told LeBrun via text. “Now that is done, I expect to have more conversations with Chris Drury as we head towards July 1st.”
Rangers talk extension with Jaroslav Halak
It’s now clear that Halak feels like he has at least one more season in him, so the Rangers would probably like to bring him back.
Despite a slow start to last year, where he won only once in 8 starts (1-6-1), he settled down and rattled off 7 straight wins from December to February. That streak also coincided with the Rangers turning their campaign around as well.
“Every time you join a new team, maybe you try too much and somehow you’re squeezing the stick a little more,” Halak said after finding his game. “I guess when my record wasn’t the best, I told myself, ‘Don’t worry about those games, turn the page and keep moving forward.’ That’s what I wanted.”
The 38 year-old backup posted a solid 10-9-5 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .903 save percentage in 2022-23.
For his career, Halak is just 5 wins away from the 300 milestone. He currently sits at 295-189-68 with a 2.50 GAA and a .915 save percentage.
Halak signed a one year-deal for $1.5M as a free agent on July 13, 2022. If the Rangers could find a way to get him to sign for less, it would help their cap situation immensely.
Per PuckPedia, the Blueshirts have $11,762,918 in cap space with 14 players from last season under contract.
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