Montreal Canadiens having Carey Price around the team is a bonus

It has been a bit of a rough patch for Carey Price and being able to get back on the ice for Montreal Canadiens. The best way to put it is that being in the league for 15 seasons has started to catch up to him at 35 years old.

A string of injuries to his knee has kept Price off the ice. He also spent time away from the Montreal Canadiens to handle some mental health struggles. He sought treatment from the player assistance program that the NHL has in place and was able to work through a long road to recovery.

He found his way back on the ice, healthy and ready to go. He played in five games for that Habs last season, struggling to find his footing. But things took a turn for the worst, and he ended up needing to head back to the sidelines to deal with a knee injury.

Carey Price being around the Montreal Canadiens in 2022-23 is a nice bonus.

With 2022-23 starting to focus, the longtime Habs netminder is unfit to play. But this does not mean that he will be away from the team. In his absence, it appears that he will still find ways to contribute to the greater good of the team.

In a recent piece from the Montreal Gazette, Stu Cowan talked about some comments and information surrounding Price that came from the team’s annual golf tournament. While he will still be nursing the knee injury and is unfit to play, he will get a chance to still be around with his teammates.

For a new captain like Nick Suzuki, having Price around will be like having an extra leader in the locker room. It will benefit Suzuki to have Price around as a resource and someone he can turn to with all of his experience in this league.

On top of that, Price is a well-liked member of the Canadiens organization; keeping him around the team only helps morale and gives them another resource and veteran to look to. Having him around is going to be a true bonus.

The timeline for Price injury-wise is still uncertain. As Cowan notes, he will remain unfit to play, and likely may need surgery if he wants to return to the ice.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but this may be Price’s chance to stay around the team and hang onto the on-ice aspects of the game as much as possible as he tends to his injuries. The plan is still for him to return someday, but that “someday” does not have a confirmed timeline.

At a minimum, it will be nice for the Habs to have Price around for the 2022-23 season. He’ll be a mentor to Suzuki and a benefit to the room’s morale overall.