Former Rangers goalie retires, laments falling short of 300 NHL wins
Jaroslav Halak played his final NHL game with the New York Rangers in 2022-23 and then spent the next two seasons hoping another team would give him a chance to continue his career and quest to reach the 300-win milestone.
That next opportunity never came for Halak, who officially retired as a professional player Friday. The 40-year-old goalie finished his NHL career with a 295-189-69 record, 2.50 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and 53 shutouts (26th all-time) over 17 seasons.
“It’s been two years and I’ve come to terms with not reaching 300,” Halak told Dennik Sport in a story translated from his native Slovak. “Looking back on my career, it’s been a good one. It would have been nicer with 300 wins, but I’ll be happy with 295.”
Halak was a ninth-round pick and the 271st player overall selected in the 2003 NHL Draft. He played for seven teams — the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers.
Twice in his career, Halak was part of a goaltending tandem that won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL. He did so in 2011-12 with Brian Elliott of the Blues, and again in 2019-20 with Tuukka Rask of the Bruins.
He had 20 or more wins seven times, including an NHL career-high 38 with the Islanders in 2014-15, when he was selected to play in the All-Star Game.
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Jaroslav Halak retires, played final NHL season with Rangers
Halak had some consistent success against the Rangers, particularly when he played for the Islanders from 2014-18 — he won 11 of 14 decisions against the Blueshirts during those four seasons. Perhaps tired of facing him, the Rangers signed Halak to be Igor Shesterkin’s backup in 2022-23 following his one-year stint with Canucks.
Appearing in 25 games (24 starts) with the Rangers, Halak was 10-9-5 with a 2.72 GAA, .903 save percentage and one shutout. But the Rangers opted to sign Jonathan Quick to be Shesterkin’s backup in the summer of 2023 and Halak was left without a job.
Halak was winless in his first six decisions with the Rangers (0-5-1), though he allowed more than three goals just once during that span. He finally picked up his first win with them on Nov. 30, 2022, a 3-1 road victory against the Senators in Ottawa.
After a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in his next start, Halak reeled off seven consecutive victories from Dec. 17, 2022 – Feb. 11, 2023. He allowed 15 goals in that stretch.
Halak made 22 saves for his only shutout with the Rangers, a dominating 7-0 victory over the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden on March 19. Six nights later, he backstopped a win against the Florida Panthers, before Halak lost the final three games (0-1-2) of that season, and his career.
“Last year I completed summer training. I wanted to go on the ice in Boston, but when nothing came of it, I told myself it was pointless. After that I didn’t even try anymore,” Halak explained. “I’m officially ending my career. I would like to thank my family, friends, fans and especially my wife Petra, who has been by my side my entire career.”
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