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Jaroslav Halak draws a massive crowd to say good-bye to Montreal, benefit children’s hospital

Image (1) Halak4-thumb-200x300-10609-thumb-250x375-10611-thumb-250x375-11448-thumb-250x375-13899.jpg for post 15183

While you could argue all day about who the biggest star in the 2010 NHL Playoffs was, it’s clear that one guy’s legacy is well recognized by the fans in the city he used to play in. Current Blues goalie and former Habs playoff hero, Jaroslav Halak, got a chance to say his official good-bye to the fans in Montreal today as he signed autographs for charity, the Ste. Justine Children’s Hospital in Montreal. The response was stunning.

A line-up of fans estimated at 5,000 stretched the length of the Fairview mall in Pointe-Claire, Que., and a long way outside the building.

“It feels weird, but I have good memories in Montreal and that’s why I wanted to say thank you to the fans,” Halak said.

While Halak wasn’t exactly a long-time storied member of the Habs franchise (he spent four years with the team), the mark he left on the team leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals is one that the fans in Montreal clearly appreciate. It’s also a legacy that will make Carey Price’s job a lot tougher this season as a Twilight-like debate over whether the Habs should keep Price or Halak developed immediately after the Habs were eliminated by the Flyers.

While some Montreal fans may have stayed away or even gotten critical with Halak’s agent Allan Walsh via Twitter, there’s no doubt that doing something like to this to help benefit a children’s hospital and to thank the fans is one of the nicest things any player could do in such a situation to help quiet critics either of Halak or of Habs management for trading him. After all, if you can’t put that aside to do something nice to help the kids, perhaps some soul searching is in order.