Jaroslav Halak felt all the emotions a veteran NHLer might feel from the moment on the morning of Dec. 30, when Garth Snow called Halak in the goaltender’s hotel room in Winnipeg to inform him that the Islanders were putting Halak on waivers and he’d be going to Bridgeport if and when he cleared.
Anger. Resignation. Bitterness. They were all there for Halak, who is a fairly intense person even on the best of days.
But in nearly three months away from the team, he rediscovered the joy of being a pro athlete — not to mention the extra dough in his paycheck from being out of the NHL and not subject to the hefty escrow that players, per the CBA, have to return to the league.