To me, there is nothing more deflating to a team than not having a definite starting goaltender. The goalie is the most important player on the team. If you’re in a situation where you don’t know which of your goalies is better, it will provide a huge distraction.

The issue that the Habs are having right now is an issue of trust, not skill. Currently, they have two goalies that could play in the crease every night. Carey Price, a young, 22 year old goalie that was drafted in the first round, and Jaroslav Halak, a 24 year old goalie that is the better season.

Unfortunately for the Habs, there is no clear winner between the two. Even though Halak has the better numbers, he apparently made a trade demand to management back in December. They are beginning to question whether or not he wants to be with the team.

Apparently, Price has also been accused of “not playing with heart” by teammates. Although, the credibility of the radio station that started this rumor has been questioned. I would take this with a grain of salt because it may be blown out of proportion.

However, if the Price situation is true, then both problems need to be taken care of. Both goalies are set to become free agents at the end of the season. The question is, which one should Montreal keep.

Recently, Halak has been playing better but Montreal still appears to be leaning towards price. They believe that Halak won’t be around Montreal for much longer because of what he said back in December.

Right now, it’s obvious that Halak is the better goalie. His save percentage is better, his GAA is better and he has a little bit more experience. In fact, he has the fourth best save percentage in the NHL (.927) and is 13th in GAA (2.43). This is compare to Price who is 17th in save percentage (.913) and 23rd in GAA (2.73).

If Montreal were trying to figure out which goalie was having a better year, then Halak would win. But, this controversy isn’t about who’s having a better year. This controversy is about which goalie is better for the team.

Do you put Halak in and give yourself a better chance of winning games? Or, do you put Price in and give him more experience? That’s what this debate is really about.

To make this situation even worst, the Habs are in a playoff race at a crucial time. This decision could play a big role in whether or not they make the playoffs. Currently, they are in a four-way tie for seventh place with Florida, New York (Rangers), and Philadelphia.

I’m not saying it will happen like this, you never really know. The way I see it, which goalie you put in will be the difference between 2-3 games. That’s 4-6 points in the standings which could be the difference between making the playoffs and staying at home.

Obviously, I’m thinking that Halak would gain the points and Price would lose those points. Again, you never really know, Halak could start sucking and Price could have an all star year. I’m just going off of the way the stats are right now. You can’t count on Price having an all star year, or bench Halak because you think he’s going to suck. You have to go with the current statistics.

Right now, it would seem that you would want the goalie that’s been having the better season in the crease for crucial games. If Price really is having trouble “playing with heart” a little bit of time on the bench could improve his work ethic. However, it could also destroy it.

I know I’m flip-flopping a lot here, but this is a very difficult situation. If the Habs fall out of playoff contention, I think we’ll see Price playing more, just to get experience. But if they’re in the hunt right up until April, we may see Halak get more time.

My tentative prediction is that both goalies see a fair amount of time in the crease until we see what the playoff picture looks like. If there’s a battle for the playoffs, Halak will see more time, and if the Habs fall out of playoff contention, Price will see more time. However, anything could happen, and I’m sure the coaches know more about this than I do. Unfortunately, we can only wait and see what move the coaching staff makes and how it affects the team.

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