UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The New York Islanders acquired the negotiating rights to veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak from the Washington Capitals on Thursday for a fourth-round draft pick in a trade between teams that failed to make the playoffs.
New York is sending the draft pick it acquired from Chicago in February in the deal that sent Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Peter Regin to the Blackhawks.
If a new contract isn’t reached with Halak before July 1, the 28-year-old goalie can become an unrestricted free agent.
Halak split this season between St. Louis and Washington and went a combined 29-13-13 in 52 games. He was traded by the Blues to the Sabres on March 1 and sent to Washington four days later before playing a game with Buffalo.
Halak is 144-85-29 with a 2.38 goals-against average and 30 shutouts in his NHL career.
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