The Montreal Canadiens drafted their number one stud goaltender with the fifth overall selection in the 2005 NHL entry draft.
Carey Price played 41 games during his rookie season, two years later in 2007-08, and he managed a 24-12-3 record. He also played 10 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs the Habs farm team recording six wins and four losses. Price also got his first taste of Stanley Cup playoff action, posting a 5-6-0 record through 11 starts.
As we have all come to know, Price's commitment and effort to win games was never in question, he always did his best to keep the Habs in the game. The issue was the supporting case, most notably the offense that never really supported Price the way that he supported the team. During his career, Price only had one 80-plus point player - Alex Kovalev (84 points in 82 games).
Even in 2014-15 when Price had the best season of his career, the top scorer on the roster was Max Pacioretty. The captain at the time scored 67 points in a season where he played all 80 games. Price, of course won the Vezina, the Hart trophy and the Ted Lindsay award.
What if he had better management?
With the future now upon us, and the Habs in full rebuild mode, things are rolling in the right direction. The centre's that long evaded former general manager Marc Bergevin are a thing of the past. Kent Hughes has shored up the organization's centre depth, drafted well and has an all-world player development staff.
It's sad to say it, but the team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2020-21 and stalled because of their offense, was solid, but needed big changes. Should those changes have been implemented, Price could have done quite a bit more with the current team. Obviously this version of the team needs some work and they won't reach their full potential for a few more seasons, but a decision to clean house from top to bottom - general manager and coaching - was needed then.
Watching Price and Shea Weber lay it on the line, giving their everything, knowing this was their last hurrah was tough to see. It ultimately gave Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield lots of experience and lit a fire in their bellies. But it's awful to think that a goaltender who belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame was never provided the support from management to ice a team that could compete for Stanley Cups.