The history of the Montreal Canadiens has been one that has seen plenty of brilliant goaltenders who have come and gone.
Carey Price, for better or for worse, should be a name on the list. He never won a Stanley Cup championship, however, prior to his injury in the playoffs at the hands of New York Rangers clown Chris Kreider, the Habs were looking like a Stanley Cup bound train, that had Price playing out of his mind.
There’s also the Stanley Cup Final run in what would end up being the nail in the proverbial coffin of his playing career. He was the main reason the team was able to even get out of the first round, let alone make it all the way to the final round in 2021. Despite having no cup rings to show for it, he has done everything else.
Long story short, Price belongs on any list of the Habs’ greatest goalies of all time. I will take that one step further in saying that he should be right there with Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante and the two Georges. Hainsworth and Vezina.
They all deserve their flowers, and that is significant, especially considering that they were largely the backbone of the Canadiens’ stretches of dominance. As, the winningest franchise in NHL history, with 24 Stanley Cup champions. Don’t get me wrong, the rosters were a strength, but the goalies deserve their praise as well.
Montreal has been lucky enough to keep turning out starting goaltenders, and with Price done. The next man up becomes important, and there are a couple of guys in the mix. Jakub Dobes and Cayden Primeau are looking to make some noise at the pro level this season. And the Habs have some options from the past two drafts.
Yevgeni Volokhin and Quentin Miller have been playing exceptionally well in their respective leagues. The Russian MHL, and The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Both look like guys who should be monitored, but there’s one guy who has stood out from the pack for all the right reasons.