Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price Is Not Going Anywhere

The Montreal Canadiens were in the rumor mill with Jake Allen’s name being tossed around before the protection list submission deadline. One source claimed Allen was heading to San Jose in return for Kevin Labanc, but the deal fell through after the Sharks wanted a prospect to be added to the deal.

Then Allen was supposedly being traded to Edmonton for Ethan Bear before Montreal stepped out at the last second and announced a bombshell in which Allen was going to be protected for the expansion draft because Carey Price agreed to waive his no movement clause in order to be exposed for said expansion draft.

Naturally, everyone lost their collective minds. Our own Ken MacMillan went as far as claiming that just exposing Price is a fireable offence. Fans and media alike were going ballistic thinking that it was now a sure thing that Price was going to Seattle. The fact that he’s from BC and also that he and his wife and kids spend the offseason in Washington state just screams that we were going to lose our number one goaltender.

One of the more persistent rumors once the news broke is that Seattle would select Price only to trade him back to Montreal while holding on to salary in return for picks and prospects, which the Habs are now flooded with. The league shut down the rumors quick warning both Montreal and Seattle that such practice would be considered cap circumvension and will result in the trade being voided and penalties to be sanctioned. So that option is out the window.

Now Angela Price, Carey’s wife, has posted on Instagram claiming that all of this will make sense soon. Whatever that means is up for interpretation. But not long after, it was announced that Price will need “routine” knee surgery in the off-season. Naturally, everyone went ballistic again now claiming he might be out for most of next season and that his hips are starting to hurt again as well.

However “routine” this surgery is, a goaltender needing knee surgery is never good news. It hurts and it’ll keep hurting for as long as he’s playing.

This past playoff run has returned Price to Godlike status in the NHL. Of course he has been spectacular, but no one seems to remember that despite his acrobatic, his hide has been saved more than once by a near impeccable defensive system applied and abided by everyone on the team. When he showed up battered and bruised in the Finals, we saw the Price we have become accustomed to seeing.

Hate on me all you want, but Carey Price has not been the “best goalie in the world” since 2017 when he came back from a season-ending injury the year before. Remember the 17-18 season when he started complaining about the team’s direction and how he “needed” to win a Cup asap. He started playing so poorly that an “injury” took him out again.

2018-19 saw him put up more respectable numbers but he was a far cry from the Carey Price of 2015 when he won all the hardware. 2019-20 saw a goaltender who was just not motivated and seemed more tired and bruised than anything. This past season, before he went down with yet another injury, Price wasn’t all that much better. We should be thanking our stars that Jake Allen is still around because he’s the one who brought the Habs to the playoffs.

https://twitter.com/MeteMint/status/1417150311374938116?s=20

So if you’re Ron Francis, do you select a 34 year old goaltender with a history of hip and knee injuries with five years left and a $10.5 million cap hit? If they do, it would be the greatest thing to happen to Montreal since having a sudden influx of cap space along with Weber’s potential trip on the LTIR opens up an infinite amount of possibilities.

But it won’t happen. Seattle will select Cale Fleury or Brett Kulak before they select Carey Price.