Halak Shoehorned Into Caps Crease

If you haven't heard yet, it was the Trade Deadline Day for the goalies. Jaroslav Halak and Michal Neuvirth finished the day for the netminders, being swapped for one another to help solve some situations.

Halak, who was acquired by the Sabres in the deal that saw Ryan Miller go to St. Louis earlier in the frenzy, was flipped along side a 3rd round draft pick, heading to the Washington Capitals for Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla, who was also flipped from a previous deal also.  This deal turned into deals from deals, which kind of made the deadline a lot more exciting.

Halak, when it was all said and done, was the second-best player to be dealt at the deadline and the best player to be dealt twice at the deadline.  Halak didn't make any appearances in his short stint with the Sabres, but in St. Louis, he was able to give them 24 wins, 4 shutouts and an assist for 57 points and a 1.53 points per 60 minutes scoring rate in the pool.  Halak, at the start of Wednesday night's action, was ranked 28th overall, a high 2nd round pick in the pool, if you were counting.

Remarkably, this is one of the few deals where there were a couple of pool players moved and it was the second goalie in the deal, Neuvirth, who will provide the Sabres with another mid-tier option in their crease.

Neuvirth has been an 'alright' goaltender for the Capitals in his career, showing flashes of really good play and then some real lemon games.  In 2014, Neuvirth has appeared in 13 games, winning 4 and adding an assist for only 9 points.

The Capitals were looking for a starter and the Sabres were looking for someone who could play right away, if needed, playing behind Jhonas Enroth.  The Sabres will likely be looking for a franchise goalie in the foreseeable future, but for now, they will finish the season with two mid-level keepers, likely aiming for the 1st overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft.

Welcome back to the bottom of the standings, as Doug has Halak and Derek Wyllie has Neuvirth, both below the equator in the standings.

Now, Wyllie is in the triple-digits going into Wednesday night's action in the third segment and if he can get a few more starts, something he wasn't going to get in Washington, even before Halak's arrival, he is already in a better position.  Wyllie has the worst numbers from the crease this year, with 20 total points, so any improvement would be smiled upon.