Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price is a Hall of Fame player. There, let’s just get that out of the way right now.
I know by looking at this title, that you already have your counter-argument ready about how I’m some 21-year-old kid who doesn’t know squat about hockey and is invoking yet also insulting the great name of Carey Price, and quite frankly, I’m used to it (how about that Logan Mailloux, eh?)
Regardless of this however, there’s still a lot to be decided regarding Price’s future in hockey, and it’s a future that is at once both bleak and similarly hopeful.
https://twitter.com/Dave_Stubbs/status/1543175423600873472
Most everybody is aware of the journey Price has gone on over the course of the past few seasons. After the 2016-17 season he seemingly returned to his inconsistent self of old and his future seemed questionable after repeated injury troubles.
In spite of an overall rough stretch in 2020-21 that saw him finish with a 2.64 GAA and .901 SVP, Price was figuratively and literally one of, if not the only reason the Canadiens made a magical Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals, saving them game after game when they got outplayed by better teams game after game.
In the off-season, when the typical CVS receipt length list of post-playoff injuries hit the Habs, Price was no exception and once again, his future was questionable, made even more so after Price checked himself into the NHL’s Player Assistance Program prior to the start of this season.
Ultimately, he did return, though only for the final five games of the season and showed noticeable rust as he posted a 1-4-0 record with a 3.63 GAA and .878 SVP. In the end though, he came home with the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and his story was seen as inspirational and a true testament to the character in pro sports.