Rumors Fly Around Washington Capitals’ Jaroslav Halak

The most interesting thing about the Internet is that anything can be put out there and immediately be seen as truth. There are numerous online posts circulating about Washington Capitals goaltender, Jaroslav Halak, regarding his not playing against his former team, the St. Louis Blues. The media jumped onto the frenzied bandwagon and sensationalized a non-story to make Halak out to be less than loyal to his current team.

In an article posted on Puck Daddy, Jaroslav Halak asks out of start vs. St. Louis Blues, former teammates, writer Greg Wyshynski states, “it should not be too surprising that Jaroslav Halak asked Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates not to play him against his former team, the St. Louis Blues…” Wyshynski goes on to state that Halak is “admitting that he’d harm the Capitals’ changes of winning this game if he started.” It has always been my belief to gather all of the facts prior to blowing something so nominal out of proportion.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Here is the full statement made by Capitals head coach Adam Oates. Oates’ full comments, for the record: “We know the feelings when you go into your old stomping ground and it’s not always easy and you’re not always comfortable, at least the first time. We talked to [Halak] and he just wasn’t 100 percent comfortable. Unfortunately this time of year and where we’re at, we can’t afford that and Holts has played great lately. We feel really good about that and Holts is playing.”

This is not an unusual occurrence in regards to a goaltender facing their former team for the first time. St. Louis Blues’ Ryan Miller did play when his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, came into St. Louis. Common sense tells us that a goaltender’s former team knows too much about the mental preparedness and the physical pitfalls of their game. So why is Halak sitting out of the St. Louis Blues game such a big deal? It is not. The big deal is that the media blew it up and made Halak out to be an unstable head case.

Halak has had his fair share of melt downs, but then again, find a NHL goaltender that has never had a melt down. For the media to persecute him, I felt it was uncalled for. Halak is a strong goaltender and I still stand behind my opinion about the intelligence of the Ryan Miller/Steve Ott and Jaroslav Halak/Chris Stewart trade. It was not the best move that Blues’ General Manager, Doug Armstrong, has made in recent history.

I am proud of Halak for standing up and saying that he never asked to be removed from the line-up against the Blues. In an article for the Washington Post, Jaroslav Halak’s agent ‘bewildered’ Adam Oates broke trust between player, coach, Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, spoke up and defended his client. Even if comments given to the media were twisted and the internet being what it is blew the story out of the water, there is a thing called trust that must exist between a player and coach. By Oates admitting that Halak was not “100 percent comfortable”, he divulged a private conversation and probably made Halak a little more wary of going to him. This situation could cause hard feelings between the two and make Halak’s stay in Washington short-lived.

Fans Experience Different Treatment During St. Louis Blues Game

COMMENTARY | This past Tuesday, April 1^st, the St. Louis Blues faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers and I decided to conduct a little experiment during the game. I was there with my sister and partner in crime; we had glass level seating and all-access to the Blue Note Lounge. We have never come across a Scottrade employee that has been rude, unkind or unwilling to go the extra mile for our comfort and enjoyment of the game. I gave three young men tickets to the game as well. Their seats were located in the upper bowl of Scottrade Center. They were dressed like typical young guys; clean clothes, baseball caps turned backward, clean cut albeit a little loud and somewhat rough around the edges.

Kristy and I arrived first and enjoyed a nice meal in the Blue Note Lounge. The guys arrived with the general admission when the gates opened at 6:00 p.m. We met up near the Lounge entrance and I watched usher and security reaction to the guys. Security guards remained close and ushers seemed to guard their areas with extra caution. This to me was interesting because I have been able to move freely around the concourse and club sections of the Scottrade Center without feeling as if I were under surveillance or would be barred from certain areas. The guys tried to enter the club level and were immediately barred by the usher. The usher went so far as to physically put his hands on one of the guys. Prior to the start of the game, I invited the guys down to the glass level seating to watch the players warm up before the start of the game. As they enjoyed being so close to the ice, I observed the reactions of those around us. The ushers were friendly and helpful to Kristy and me; however, they kept a close watch on the three guys.

The "Guys" enjoying the game!

We parted company after the warm-ups, the guys made their way to their upper bowl seats while I once again enjoyed the amenities of the Blue Note Lounge. I stopped and spoke to our usher, a very nice gentleman who had just had hip replacement surgery. Kristy came through a different section to get to our seats and was met with helpful and friendly ushers and event security. After enjoying the first period, we all met up again and I had another experiment to try. The game day photographers who snap photos of the fans and hock their wares have a green screen set up where fans can be placed in the locker room or at ice level wearing quirky jerseys and holding beat-up hockey sticks. Kristy and I have had this done before simply for the fun of it. The photographers at the green screen have always been quite funny and easy-going. When we arrived with the three guys in tow there was an immediate shift in the attitudes of the workers. I noticed it immediately as did Kristy. This being the first game for all the guys, they did not know anything was amiss. After getting the photos taken and hearing the sales speech that is always given, one of the photographers became absolutely irate with one of the guys who snapped a picture of the photos that was on the screen for us to look at. Rather than explain to him that it was not allowed, the photographer started yelling at all three of the guys. I will point out that there are absolutely no signs posted that states taking pictures of the photos on the screen is prohibited. Kristy and I walked away unscathed and finding the situation very amusing.

After leaving the green screen area and the rather irritated photographer, I noticed that a security guard was following us as we made our way through the crowd towards the Blue Note Lounge. We parted ways again; the guys back to their seats and Kristy to the Lounge while I headed back to my seat. This time I went through a different section to see if I would get stopped trying to go down to the glass seats. The usher, a smiling, older woman, let me walk right past her without looking at my ticket or questioning where I was going. I walked back to my seats to find an interloper parked there. After telling the enthusiastic fan that he was in my seat, a security guard came up and asked me if I were experiencing a problem. I told him the other person was just a little lost. The security guard told me that if I needed anything, just find him and he would be happy to help. An interesting note is that the security guard allowed the interloper to remain down at glass seats even though he was bragging that his seats were “way up there”. 

With about ten minutes left in the game I sent a text message to the guys and told them that there were three seats open right in front of us. The seats had been open the entire game. The usher and security guard refused to allow them down to the seats even though there were others who had been allowed to sit down there. This was a little frustrating and showed a bias against these three young men. They were finally able to “sneak” down before the shoot-out started and the usher let them stay.

I admit that I used these three young guys as an experiment because I had heard other fans complain about their experiences with employees at the Scottrade Center. I have only had one issue with a bad-tempered employee in all the years that I have attended Blues games and events. I do admit to trying to sit in sections where my favorite ushers are located. My absolute favorite usher is a young college student named Scott. He is always so upbeat and willing to go the extra mile to make sure that the game is enjoyable. Watching the trials that the three guys went through during their visit to the Scottrade Center, I can fully understand why people do complain. These guys were followed by security everywhere that I observed them and they were treated with disdain by several employees. While the Blues pride themselves on great game day experiences for their fans, there are preconceived prejudices that prevent certain fans from being free from scrutiny and being shadowed while in the Scottrade Center. I was truly surprised that not every person had the same level of courtesy and enjoyment while attending a Blues game.

I do apologize to the three guys that I observed during the game. I used them for my own investigative purposes and while they claim they enjoyed the game, I did purposely place them in situations just to watch the reactions of the employees. My findings helped to rip the rose colored glasses off my eyes regarding a fan’s experience during a Blues game at the Scottrade Center.

**Also posted on MickiHolleyBleedsBlue.Blogspot.com