As we evaluate 25 Montreal Canadiens over the next 25 days, why not start from the net and move outward? After all, that’s always been the blueprint followed by the organization’s builders.
There’s never been a clearer reflection of the Canadiens’ prescription to that model than drafting Carey Price as high as they did on the heels of former MVP Jose Theodore’s regression in the mid-2000s. It was a controversial decision at the time, but who would argue with it now?
Price has earned World Junior Championship gold, MVP honours from an AHL Championship, Olympic gold, multiple All-Star Game appearances and some of the NHL’s most outstanding individual achievements.
Fully seasoned, he appears primed to help the Canadiens out of a 23-year Stanley Cup drought.
Who: Carey Price | No. 31 | Starting goaltender | 6’3” | 216 lbs | Age: 28 | CP0031
Acquired: 2005 Entry Draft (Round 1, 5th overall)
Contract status: 6 years, $6.5M AAV (expires 2019)
2014-15 stats: 66 GP; 44-16-6; .933 SV%; .946 ADSV%; 1.96 GAA; 9 SO
Career stats: 435 GP; 223-153-50; .919 SV%; .934 ADSV%; 2.44 GAA; 34 SO
The book on 2014-15:
In 106 years of Montreal Canadiens hockey, no goaltender has had a more prolific season than the one Price authored in 2014-15.
Think about that.
Think about the goaltenders that have played for Montreal — Hall of Famers Georges Vezina, Bill Durnan, George Hainsworth, Jacques Plante, Lorne “Gump” Worsley, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy — and think about Price breaking the franchise record for wins in a season (he did it on win 43). Don’t forget that the 2014-15 Canadiens were a far cry from the ones that won 24 Cups in front of those other goalies.
Price added the Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding as voted by his peers), Vezina Trophy, and William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against, minimum 25 games) to his crowded mantle after finishing atop the league in wins, save percentage and goals-against average. He also finished second in shutouts.
The only things missing from Price’s 2015-trophy haul were the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe. If the Canadiens had won the former, it would’ve surely been as a result of Price’s rightful claim to the latter.
Off-season updates:
Price went radio-silent after strolling into Las Vegas to collect all that hardware at the NHL Awards Show, retreating to his off-season home in Kelowna, B.C. with his wife Angela.
“I don’t even look at [goalie equipment] for [the first] two months [of summer],” Price said in a recent interview. “I don’t even think about the game, and then two weeks ago I put my gear on and was excited to play the game again. You need to have that hunger again. If you’re playing all year, I find you lose that.”
Canadiens fans needn’t worry about Price’s competitive edge.
“Winning the Stanley Cup’s my priority and I haven’t done that yet, so that’s what keeps me driven,” Price assured.
2015-16 outlook:
Can Price match the output of his incredible 2014-15 season? Can he be better?
After setting the bar impossibly high, it’s hard to fathom the answer being yes to both questions.
But another run at the league’s top honours would hardly be surprising and, at 28 years old, there’s far less reason to believe Price’s play will drop off significantly.
A more pertinent question is: does Price have to be as good/better for the Canadiens to succeed?
It would be critical for the Canadiens to help Price out more than they have over the last few seasons. His post-seasons were cut short in two of the last three runs due to injury, and some pains nearly sidelined him in the third one. A lighter burden during the regular season would go a long way toward ensuring he’s at full health when it matters most.
Directly in front of Price, Montreal’s blueliners should be just as good at helping him keep the puck out of the net as they were last season (the Canadiens finished atop the league in goals against) and there’s room for optimism they’ll be more effective offensively.
P.K. Subban is just entering his prime, and the long-term signing of Jeff Petry will push soon-to-be 37-year-old Andrei Markov to more sheltered minutes. Nathan Beaulieu seems poised for a breakout season and the depth Tom Gilbert, Alexei Emelin, Greg Pateryn and Jarred Tinordi offer can’t be discounted.
Up front, Alex Semin and Zack Kassian were low-risk — and potentially high-reward — off-season acquisitions. A moderate level of success for both players, coupled with progress for Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk who are both entering their fourth season with the team, would at least amount to a marginal improvement for an offence that ranked 20th in league scoring in 2014-15.
A bolstered power play would go a long way towards alleviating the pressure Price faces on a nightly basis, too. And with the additions they made, the Canadiens aren’t likely to be worse in that department (23rd in 2014-15).
