The Canadiens have traded goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier will hold a 4:15 p.m. conference call Thursday to discuss the trade with the media.

Eller, a 21-year-old Dane, played seven games with the Blues last season, scoring two goals. The 6-foot, 198-pound centre was selected by St. Louis in the first round (13th overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft. In 70 games with the American Hockey League's Peoria Rivermen last season, Eller had 18 goals and 39 assists for 57 points.

Schultz, a 20-year-old from Calgary, played 70 games last season with the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen, posting 24-31-55 totals along with 150 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound forward was selected by the Blues in the third round (87th overall) of the 2008 NHL entry draft. His older brother, Jeff, plays with the Washington Capitals.

Halak, who took the Canadiens' No. 1 goaltending job from Carey Price last season, led Montreal to the Eastern Conference final while posting the best save percentage (.923) of all NHL goalies during the postseason and the third-best goals-against average (2.55).


During the regular season, Halak posted a 26-13-5 record with a 2.40 GAA and a .924 save percentage.


Carey Price, who will now be the team's No. 1 goalie, had a 13-20-5 record with a 2.77 GAA and .912 save percentage.


Both Halak and Price are slated to become restricted free agents on July 1.




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