Carey Price is healthy and ready to compete for the starting job on Team Canada in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, general manager Doug Armstrong confirmed Tuesday.
“He’s been training. He’s 100 per cent and he’s ready to go,” Armstrong said. “Now, he’ll have to shake off some of the rust because he hasn’t played in a game situation in a long time. But he will come into (training camp) and be ready to go for Game 1.”
Price strained an MCL ligament in his right knee on Nov. 25, 2015 in a game against the New York Rangers, and did not play for the Canadiens again in the 2015-16 season. “It was the most challenging year of my career,” he said on April 7, when he returned to full practice with the Habs having played only 12 games last season.
Armstrong has kept in touch with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, who is a member of the Team Canada management team, and the news has been good.
“When we picked our initial roster he wasn’t playing, but we wanted him as part of the process,” Armstrong said. “He is, by his stature the past couple of years and what he did in Sochi, maybe the best goalie on the planet, and we wanted to make sure he was comfortable with everything. We’ve stayed in touch with him over his rehab.”
Price and the rest of Team Canada will be in Ottawa on the Labour Day long weekend for the opening of Team Canada’s training camp. He will compete for the starter’s job against Chicago’s Corey Crawford and Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.
