Carey Price made history earning his 315th career win with the Montreal Canadiens reminding the organization and the league how critical he is to the team.
The lockout canned the 2004/05 season, and when all the teams were ready to figure out where they would select, a 30-scale draft lottery was used taking into account playoff appearances and history of first-overall picks. Sidney Crosby had his name all over the draft that year, but there was a goaltender in wake who many said had the potential of being generational. Luckily, the Montreal Canadiens ignored some of the reluctance to take a goaltender so high bringing Carey Price to the organization fifth overall.
It took another two years for Price to make his way to the NHL, and once he got there, he didn’t leave. But it was then stopping pucks and getting wins for the BC-native. With every save and every win, Price became the identity of the Montreal Canadiens bailing out the team when they didn’t have any gas on a particular night or closing the gates when they were in desperate need of a victory.
The same impact came in the playoffs as Price established that he had the ability to steal a series. The departure of Jaroslav Halak was a little murky. However, there’s no denying the organization didn’t make the right choice in laying the net at Price’s hands. Plus if it weren’t for that trade, the Habs wouldn’t have been able to draft Joni Ikonen.