Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott were born barely a month apart in 1985. As prospects they were overlooked to the point that both were drafted in a round that no longer exists. If there’s one more thing they have in common, it’s that both men would like to be the man in the St. Louis Blues crease, where, for three seasons, they’ve split time in forming one of the league’s best and most diverse goalie tandems.
"They’re kind of polar opposites, which actually works," said Blues goalie coach Corey Hirsch.
Both ninth-round picks in 2003 — the NHL lopped the draft down to seven rounds in 2005 — Halak and Elliott are definitely distinct entities. Halak came to St. Louis in a trade that created great fanfare in the summer of 2010, after he carried the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final. Tabbed to be the team’s No. 1, he’s been somewhat slowed by injuries since joining St. Louis, and sometimes spelled by the strong play of Elliott, who landed in the "Show me State" with a lot to prove, but little in the way of headlines.
After experiencing some ups and downs with the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, Elliott signed with the Blues as a 26-year-old in 2011. The following season, he posted a league-best .940 save percentage and 1.56 goals-against average in 38 games, as St. Louis established its status as a Stanley Cup contender.
Both goalies saw their numbers dip during the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, but the duo — particularly Elliott — has rebounded this season to help St. Louis post the league’s third-best GAA behind only the L.A. Kings and Boston Bruins. Elliott has posted a .925 save percentage in 20 games, while Halak, who just returned from an illness, sits at .911 after 29 contests.
With more and more time devoted to teaching goalies a standard technique, the position has become pretty homogenous in recent years. The Blues cage, however, still features different flavours. Halak lets the puck come to him, relying on steady positioning to eliminate shooting options. Elliott is bigger and more aggressive, pushing out past the crease and daring opponents to find a way past him.
"If you could put them both together, you might have the ultimate goalie," Hirsch says with a laugh.
Injecting a little levity in the situation is sometimes necessary because goalies, naturally, tend to think sharing is something that should be left to Kindergarten students. Halak, specifically, has had some publicized run-ins with St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock over playing time.
"We’ve had our moments, I’m not going to lie, but they’ve both been very professional about it," says Hirsch, noting the goalies definitely maintain a healthy working relationship. "You always want to be the guy or you shouldn’t be playing."
To that end, Hirsch says coaching goalies at the highest level is more about personality management than anything else, especially when guys are splitting time. In that sense, Halak and Elliott are again defined by differences. "Their personalities are a little bit like their games," said Hirsch, noting Halak is a bit reserved, while Elliott is more outgoing.
As the contending Blues continue to search for a winning formula in the playoffs, the big question of who will start in the post-season figures to flare up now that the season’s stretch run is on the horizon. And given the fact both goalies are eligible to become unrestricted free agents this summer, the intrigue is that much thicker.
Halak started the 2012 playoffs, but sustained a high-ankle sprain in the second game of a first-round win over the San Jose Sharks and never got back in the net. Elliott finished that post-season with a subpar .904 save percentage, as St. Louis was steamrolled by the Kings in a second-round sweep. Last year, Halak was slowed by a groin injury late in the regular season and Hitchcock opted to go with Elliott as his team again ran up against L.A. Though Elliott’s numbers were much stronger than the previous year, the ultra-stingy Kings still bounced St. Louis in six games and a report surfaced that Halak — who served as the backup — wasn’t all that thrilled with Hitchcock’s decision.
Unless Blues GM Doug Armstrong makes a move before the trade deadline in March, Hitchcock will have another tough call to make this spring. The contrasting options simply make it that much more interesting for the rest of us to watch.