Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has had a terrific career with the Habs.
Though he has won just about everything a goaltender can, aside from a Stanley Cup, he has had a difficult time winning over the entire fan base throughout most of his career.
Originally drafted 5th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, many fans scratched their heads. Why take a goaltender when you have recent Hart Trophy winner Jose Theodore, and you could have picked big centre Gilbert Brule!?
More recently, Price has come under fire for his enormous contract. He signed a maximum term, eight year contract with a cap hit of $10.5 million on July 2, 2017. Price was coming off a season where he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 SV% and a great playoff series against the New York Rangers that the Habs lost in six games due to a lack of offence.
After winning the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Vezina Trophy in 2015, and Olympic Gold Medal in 2014 and a World Cup of Hockey championship in 2016, the Canadiens goaltender showed he was the best in the world at his position.
However, he was soon to be 30 years old when he signed the contract, and since it didn’t kick in for another year, he would be committed to the Canadiens until he was 38 years old. He was definitely the best goalie in the world before signing the contract, but could he live up to the $10.5 million cap hit throughout his thirties?
For the first couple years, it appeared he could not. Price had a 3.11 GAA and a .900 SV% in the season after agreeing to the contract. He was far from his Hart Trophy form for three seasons after signing the biggest contract ever by a goaltender.
Price did step up in the bubble last year. The 2020 postseason was played in Toronto and Price was terrific against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round. He posted a .947 SV% to carry the Habs to an upset victory over the Pens and he had a .926 SV% in a six game series defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers.
This year, Price has been up to the task once again in the postseason. He had his ups and downs in the regular season, as did the rest of the team, but when the playoffs arrived, so did Hart Trophy caliber Carey Price.
Price just got better and better as the first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs went along. He was phenomenal against the Winnipeg Jets, outdueling Connor Hellebuyck by putting up a .942 SV%. He was his usual calm and confident self in his first real third round action as he posted a .933 SV% in six games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Now, the Canadiens are heading to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1993. It has been a full team effort, but there is no way the team would be here without the heroics of Carey Price in the playoffs.
He was paid to be the best goaltender in the world and he is proving right now that he still is.