Bruins give Halak one-year extension

Jaroslav Halak has been a huge hit for the Bruins and, on Friday, the two parties decided to make the marriage last a little longer.

The Bruins and Halak agreed to a one-year extension worth $2.25 million for the goalie, who the past two years has served as a very successful 1B netminder behind Tuukka Rask. Now both the 33-year-old Rask, who’s created a little speculation about this being his last contract, and Halak, who’ll be 35 on May 13, are scheduled to be free agents in the summer of 2021. David Krejci is also up after ’20-21. No one knows when this championship-potential window for the Bruins is closing, but that summer of ’21 might be a pretty good guess.

Halak’s deal also has a performance bonus $1.25 million for 10 games played, which would bump him up to $3.5 million. That would constitute a raise over his current salary of $2.75 million while keeping the AAV at $2.25 million for next season, when the cap is expected to remain flat at best.

Halak has been a very good addition for the B’s. In 71 games, he’s posted a 40-17-8 record with a 2.36 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Moreover, with Halak providing a reliable alternative for the Bruins, Rask has returned to the ranks of the elite, posting a 53-21-11 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.31 GAA in 87 games.

The signing of Halak also gives the Bruins another season to develop some of their goaltending prospects. Right now Daniel Vladar, a third-round pick in 2015, is at the top of that list. Thanks to some injuries, Vladar’s development has not followed a straight, upward line but he had a good run this past season with Providence. In 25 games with the P-Bruins, he was 14-7-1 with a 1.79 GAA and .936 save percentage. Impressive numbers, but a small sample size.

Another promising prospect, Kyle Keyser, was limited to just eight games this year because of a concussion. And Jeremy Swayman, the UMaine goalie who was the top NCAA netminder last season, might have the biggest upside of all of them, but he’ll need at least a year of minor league seasoning.

Now, with Halak in the fold for another season, those prospects will have more time to develop. And who knows? Come training camp for the ’21-22 season, one or two of those prospects just might have an NHL there for their taking.

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