We rarely get a public appearance from Montreal Canadiens' legendary goaltender Carey Price. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight after the abrupt end to his career. However, he appeared on Tony Marinaro's podcast for an exclusive interview and did a retrospective about his Habs career. One quote stood out from the episode, in which he discussed playing with the Canadiens.
""To be the Montreal Canadiens goaltender for 15 years, just to do that is more than a big enough honour for me.""Carey Price
Price didn't achieve the team success in his career that he had hoped for. The Canadiens failed to put the right pieces around him to make a run at the Stanley Cup, and it took a cinderella run in his final full season to come close. Price already had some injury issues, but you could say that the goaltender ended his career by putting the team on his back and trying to win that elusive championship.
One of the most disappointing things for Canadiens fans from the past two decades is the front office's inability to surround Price with the correct pieces. We saw what Price could do behind some of those Canadian teams in international tournaments, but for most of his Montreal career, he was under siege.
It's good to see that there are no hard feelings for the goaltender.
""I still feel like I could go out there and play ... In the back of my mind, I know that I don't have an NHL caliber knee.""Carey Price
In a perfect world Price would still be between the pipes for the Canadiens. He would be nearing the end of his career as a 37-year-old, but it's worth wondering what could have been if his career lasted longer. The Canadiens would have never gone into a rebuild with Price playing, and they wouldn't have some of the young core that is currently making up the roster.
It's easy to say the Canadiens would be in a better spot if Price's career hadn't ended. However, it might've been another five years of middling and they'd be nearing the end with no light at the end of the tunnel.