Who are the trade untouchables on the Montreal Canadiens?
By Omar L
The Core
As I mentioned earlier, the Montreal Canadiens have eight players in their core. Of those eight, the only player who is 100% without a doubt untouchable is Price.
The Habs live and die by the play of Price. He is the face and the most crucial piece of the Habs roster. There were seasons where the team finished higher in the standings than their play deserved, and it was all because of Price and what he was able to accomplish in net.
The 2014-15 season will go down as one of the greatest years for a goaltender in NHL history. There’s a fairly clear correlation between Price’s health or performance and Montreal’s rank in the league (as is with any starter), and many strongly believe the Montreal Canadiens would’ve made the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 had Price not have been injured.
Daniel Briere is the latest player to talk about the possibility in an article by Le Journal de Montreal saying:
"Very few people saw us beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Then we were largely neglected against Boston in the next round. But when we beat the Bruins, that’s when I really started to believe in a Stanley Cup final in Montreal. I’m sure we would have reached the ultimate round if Carey Price had not been hurt (translated)."
The Montreal Canadiens are committed to Price as he has seven years left on his contract which includes a full no-movement clause. But even if it didn’t have the clause, Price wouldn’t go going anywhere.