Halak has overcome long odds to become an NHL goaltender.

The native of Bratislava, Slovakia, was a ninth-round pick (No. 271) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Draft, but he ranks in the top 10 among active goaltenders in goals-against average (2.48; eighth) and shutouts (50; tied for fifth).

Halak came over to North America in 2004-05, when he played with Lewiston of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The following season, he turned professional with Long Beach of the East Coast Hockey League, going 11-4-2 with a 2.05 GAA and a league-best .932 save percentage when he was promoted to Hamilton of the American Hockey League. There he went 7-6-0 with a 2.29 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Halak excelled again with Hamilton in 2006-07, earning a berth on the 2007 AHL All-Rookie Team with a league-best 2.00 GAA, a .932 save percentage and six shutouts. He was called up by the Canadiens that season and made his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 18, 2007, making 31 saves in a 3-2 victory.

In 2006-07, Halak finished with a 10-6-0 record, including 7-0-0 at Bell Centre, becoming the first NHL goaltender since Bob Froese of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1982-83 to win his first seven decisions at home.

Although he spent most of the 2007-08 season with Hamilton, Halak spent the entire 2008-09 season in Montreal, going 18-14-1 before having a breakout season in 2009-10, taking the No. 1 job away from Carey Price by going 26-13-5 with a 2.40 GAA, a .924 save percentage and five shutouts. Halak then helped the eighth-seeded Canadiens rally from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to upset the top-seeded Washington Capitals, stopping 131 of 134 shots in the final three games, including a Montreal playoff record 53 saves in Game 6.

Halak also helped the Canadiens rally past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round to the Eastern Conference final, but a few weeks after being eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canadiens opted to stick with Price as their starter and traded Halak to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz on June 17, 2010.

In 2011-12, his second with the Blues, he finished fourth in the NHL with 1.97 GAA (minimum 30 games) and won the William M. Jennings Trophy along with teammate Brian Elliott (who led the NHL with a 1.56 goals-against average) for fewest goals allowed.

Despite going 24-9-4 with a 2.23 GAA and .917 save percentage for St. Louis in 2013-14, Halak was traded to the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 28, 2014. He dressed for one game with Buffalo before being traded again, this time to the Capitals on March 5, 2014.

He went 5-4-3 with a 2.31 GAA and .930 save percentage with Washington, but the Capitals traded him on May 1, 2014, to the New York Islanders, who he signed a four-year contract with on May 22, 2014.

Halak stepped in as New York's No. 1 goaltender in 2014-15 and set franchise records with 38 victories, including 11 consecutive wins from Nov. 5 to Dec. 4, to help the Islanders return to the playoffs. That season, he was named an all-star for the first time in the NHL.

Halak would go on to spend three more seasons with the Islanders before signing as a free agent with the Boston Bruins on July 1, 2018.

In his first season with Boston, as a backup to Tuukka Rask, he went 22-11-4 with a 2.34 GAA, a .922 save percentage and five shutouts.

But after two more seasons as Rask's backup, Halak signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021. He agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Rangers on July 13, 2022.

Halak played for Slovakia in two IIHF World Junior Championships and three World Championships. He also helped Slovakia to a fourth-place finish at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, played two games in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and was chosen to play for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• AHL All-Rookie Team (2007)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2015)
• Traded to St. Louis by Montreal for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, June 17, 2010.
• Signed as a free agent by Weiswasser (German-2), November 21, 2012.
• Traded to Buffalo by St. Louis with Chris Stewart, William Carrier, St. Louis' 1st round pick (later traded to Winnipeg - Winnipeg selected Jack Roslovic) in 2015 NHL Draft and St. Louis' 3rd round pick (later traded to Florida - Florida selected Linus Nassen) in 2016 NHL Draft for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott, February 28, 2014.
• Traded to Washington by Buffalo with Buffalo's 3rd round pick (later traded to NY Rangers - NY Rangers selected Robin Kovacs) in 2015 NHL Draft for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla, March 5, 2014.
• Traded to NY Islanders by Washington for Chicago's 4th round pick (previously acquired, later traded to NY Rangers - NY Rangers selected Igor Shesterkin) in 2014 NHL Draft, May 1, 2014.
• Signed as a free agent by Boston, July 1, 2018.
• Signed as a free agent by Vancouver, July 28, 2021.
• Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 13, 2022.