Former NHL goalie Jaroslav Halak retires after 17 seasons
The 40-year-old played his last NHL game on April 13, 2023, with the New York Rangers. Early in the 2023-24 season, Halak spent time with the Carolina Hurricanes on a professional tryout, but was released.
Advertisement
'Last year I completed summer training … but when nothing came of it, I told myself it was pointless. After that I didn't even try anymore,' Halak told reporter Tomas Prokop of Slovakia's Dennik Sport, per translation. '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.'
After 581 NHL games, Jaroslav Halak is hanging up the skates.
Best of luck in retirement! 👏 pic.twitter.com/UErJMw4rLz
— NHL (@NHL) July 18, 2025
A ninth-round pick (No. 271) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Draft, Halak played with the Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and Rangers in his career.
Halak also dressed for one game with the Sabres after getting traded to Buffalo in 2014, but never saw action with the team because he was traded just days later to the Capitals.
He posted a 295-189-69 record with 53 shutouts, a 2.50 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 581 career regular-season games (555 starts). He also went 17-20-0 in 39 playoff games (37 starts).
Halak's postseason heroics helped define his career, specifically in 2009-10, when he led the Montreal Canadiens to an improbable berth in the Eastern Conference final.
The native of Bratislava, Slovakia, also played for his home country at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
'It's been two years, and I've come to terms with not reaching 300 (wins),' Halak told Dennik Sport. '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 won the William M. Jennings Trophy in both 2011-12 (Blues) and 2019-20 (Bruins), awarded to the goalie(s) whose team allowed the fewest goals in the regular season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3 Forgotten Bruins Goalies From The 2010s
The Boston Bruins were blessed with two superstar goalies during the 2010s in Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask. They were major reasons for the Bruins' immense success during the decade, as they gave them some of the best goaltending in the entire league. While Thomas and Rask will certainly be the Bruins' goalies remembered most from the 2010s, the Original Six club had other intriguing backup goalies from this decade who made an impact, even if their time with the team was short-lived. Because of this, let's go over three forgotten Bruins goalies from the 2010s and look at how they performed during their time with the Black and Gold. The Bruins memorably put together a fantastic 2013-14 regular-season, as they finished the year with a 54-19-9 record and won the Presidents' Trophy for having a league-leading 117 points. Rask's fantastic play was a major reason for the Bruins having such a good regular-season that year, as he recorded a 36-15-6 record, a .930 save percentage, a 2.04 goals-against average, and seven shutouts. However, Bruins backup Chad Johnson also helped the Bruins out tremendously that campaign. In his lone season as the Bruins' backup, Johnson recorded a 17-4-3 record, a .925 save percentage, and a 2.10 goals-against average in 27 appearances. It was an excellent breakout season for the then 27-year-old, and the Bruins truly could not have expected anything more from him in the backup role. Johnson's time with the Bruins ended during the 2014 NHL off-season, as he signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with the New York Islanders in free agency. From there, he became quite the journeyman, as he had stops with the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Anaheim Ducks before playing his final NHL season in 2018-19. He also played for the New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes before joining the Bruins. In 192 career games over nine NHL seasons, Johnson had an 80-72-15 record, a .907 save percentage, and a 2.73 goals-against average. Overall, the Saskatoon native had nice career as a backup, but he had his best season as a member of the Bruins. Niklas Svedberg was another intriguing Bruins goalie from the 2010s. The 35-year-old joined the Bruins organization during the 2012 NHL off-season on an entry-level contract after winning the Le Mat Trophy with Sweden's Brynas IF during the season before. With this move, the Bruins brought in a new, fascinating goalie prospect to their system. Following joining the Bruins, he spent the 2012-13 season down in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. He left a fantastic first impression, posting a 37-8-2 record, a .925 save percentage, and a 2.17 goals-against average in 48 games during the 2012-13 season with Providence. He then had a 25-15-4 record, a .910 save percentage, and a 2.63 goals-against average in 45 appearances with Providence during the 2013-14 campaign. He also made his first NHL appearance with Boston that season, stopping 33 out of 35 shots in a win. Svedberg then spent most of the 2014-15 season on Boston's roster, where he proved to be a solid backup for Rask. In 18 appearances with the Original Six club that season, he posted a 7-5-1 record, a .918 save percentage, a 2.33 goals-against average, and two shutouts. Overall, he certainly worked well as the Bruins' backup, but this would surprisingly be his last season as a Bruin and in the NHL. During the 2015 NHL off-season, Svedberg signed with Salavat Yulaev UFA of the KHL and spent two seasons with the KHL club. From there, he returned to North America and spent the 2017-18 season in the AHL with the Iowa. After this campaign, the former Bruins netminder went back to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and later had stints in Germany and Austria. With Svedberg leaving for the KHL following the 2014-15 campaign, the Bruins needed to find a new backup goalie. Due to this, they signed goaltender Jonas Gustavsson to a professional tryout (PTO) ahead of training camp, and he successfully earned a one-year contract with Boston for the season following this. In 24 games with the Bruins during the 2015-16 season, Gustavsson recorded an 11-9-1 record, a 2.72 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and one shutout. Overall, the 6-foot-4 goaltender was a fine backup for the Bruins during the 2015-16 season. Gustavsson's time with the Bruins ended during the 2016 NHL off-season, as he signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. In seven games with the Oilers that campaign, he had a 1-3-1 record, an .878 save percentage, and a 3.10 goals-against average. He spent the majority of the season down in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors, however, recording an 8-9-0 record, a .917 save percentage, and a 2.42 goals-against average in 20 appearances. 4 Former Bruins Who Boston Misses Big Time The Boston Bruins have gone through a plethora of roster changes since their historic 65-win season during the 2022-23 campaign. Several former core players have found new homes, whether through trades or free agency, and it is a significant reason why the Bruins took such a notable step in the wrong direction this past season. Photo Credit: © Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jordan Hick retirement leaves Browns defense short-handed
Three days into camp, the Cleveland Browns are dealing another massive blow at linebacker as Jordan Hicks announces his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons. Hicks was brought to Cleveland as a free agent in 2024 and played in 12 games, totaling 78 tackles and 2 sacks. Hicks hit his prime in Arizona during the 2019 season, where he had his best statistical season, but he wasn't on the radar of many to retire this close to the start of the season. With Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah already ruled out for the yea,r that leaves the Browns with Jerome Baker, Mohamoud Diabte, Devin Bush, and the rookie Carson Schwesinger to take the bulk of the snaps in 2025. The Browns quickly filled the spot by signing WR Winston Wright out of East Carolina, but look for Andrew Berry to bring in a veteran who can give you 20 to 30 meaningful snaps next season.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aaron Judge out of Yankees' lineup Saturday due to elbow injury
Aaron Judge is not in the New York Yankees' Saturday lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies due to an "elbow issue," manager Aaron Boone said. According to Boone, Judge had an issue throwing the ball from the outfield during Friday's series opener. He was taken for imaging, and the team is currently awaiting the results. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Judge was seen wincing and gripping his right hand after a throw during Tuesday night's win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The follow day he did not play right field but served as designated hitter. Boone said the slugger was "OK." "It's not much," Boone said. "It's just probably a throw that didn't feel great. He's not DH'ing because of that. I think he's all right." This is the first game Judge has missed this season for the Yankees, who are 56-47 and sit 5 1/2 half games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. They are set to face left-hander Ranger Suárez and the Phillies on Saturday. The Yankees have dropped three of their last four games, including a 12-5 defeat Friday in the series opener. Judge is putting up another MVP-caliber season for the Yankees. Through 103 games, he leads the majors in hits (129), OPS (1.160) and batting average (.342) and is second in home runs (37) and RBI (85). While Judge will sit for Saturday's game, the Yankees will welcome third baseman Ryan McMahon to the lineup after he was acquired in a Friday trade with the Colorado Rockies. McMahon will bat ninth as the team hopes it's found a solution to a struggling left side of its infield. The Yankees finish their series with the Phillies on Sunday afternoon before welcoming the Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game set beginning Monday.
