Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price Confirms He Will Not Return

Carey Price hasn’t played an NHL game since April 29th, 2022, his last of five appearances that season. Canadiens fans already knew that Carey Price’s return to the ice was unlikely, but early Tuesday morning, Price updated the media on his status.

“It’s just not gonna happen. To take the stress of the goaltending position, it’s just not where it needs to be,” said Price in a news conference on Tuesday. Price is still under contract with the Canadiens for three more seasons with his $10.5 million cap hit.

Price missed all but five games of the 2021-22 season with a knee injury and missed all of the 2022-23 season. He seemingly managed to lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021 with the ailment before ultimately landing on LTIR. His brief return in early 2022 was one of the highlights of what was a difficult season for Canadiens fans.

Price’s return was always unlikely, but with a franchise icon such as himself, there was always a glimmer of hope that he would return to the crease. Obviously, that will not happen. However, Price has not officially retired and will remain on LTIR until his contract runs out, a common case amongst players suffering from career-ending injuries.

This leaves the possibility of the Canadiens trading his contract, as they did with Shea Weber’s. Although I don’t believe the Canadiens have any plans to do so. It will be interesting to see what Price’s post-hockey career plans are. Could he join the Canadiens front office in a similar fashion to what Paul Byron just did?

Price unofficially ends his career as the Canadiens all-time franchise leader in goalie games played and wins. We at A Winning Habit ranked him fourth on the Canadiens Greatest Goalies list back in August. He never won a Stanley Cup, though that was hardly his fault, but he won several international trophies, including an Olympic Gold Medal in 2014.

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