Canadiens' Carey Price opens up about Cup Final loss, playing future

Carey Price made his much-anticipated return to the Montreal Canadiens’ crease Friday night, and while he said Monday he’s feeling “pretty good” following his season debut it’s not clear how many more games he’ll appear in to close out the 2021-22 season.

Asked during a Montreal media availability if he had a sense of how many more starts he might see through the Canadiens’ final six games of the year, Price indicated Monday he'll be assessed on a game-by-game basis.

“I haven't seen a lot of reps in games and I still feel like my conditioning level could increase,” he said Monday, telling reporters his status will be, “a day-to-day type of thing.”

“It's all going to be how I feel the next day,” he said.

Price turned away 17 of 19 shots Friday against the New York Islanders. Montreal lost 3-0.

“It's nice to get back into game action, and even when I wasn't playing, being on the bench and taking in the game from ice-level. I thought I had a good practice again today and getting ready for tomorrow,” he explained, also joking that it was nice to return to the game-day ritual of “a good pre-game meal and a nap.”

Price said he heard from a few former teammates and peers following his return Friday, including Tomas Plekanec and Sidney Crosby.

“[Crosby] said, 'It's good to see you out there again.' So I was pleasantly surprised — not really surprised, but happy — to see a text from him,” said Price.

Price underwent an extensive knee surgery in July. In October, the team announced he was taking a leave of absence from the club and voluntarily entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. He took part in his first full-equipment team activities in December, and since then has been working closely with team staff to get back to full health. Friday was his first game between the pipes since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, when the Canadiens’ remarkable playoff run ended with the Tampa Bay Lighting hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second straight year.

The loss, explained Price, is something he’s still digesting.

“I think that's something that, even today, it's still hard to kind of comprehend, you know, coming so close,” he said. “I think any team that has ever gotten to that point will say that it's probably taken years to get over that, unless you get the opportunity right away. And not having had that opportunity for, you know, 14 years and then getting it and getting so close and yet being so far away, it's something that I'm still getting over. You know, it definitely feels like a chance lost, still.”

Price said the past year has been a time of many challenges and a lot of reflection.

“There's definitely been a lot of time for self-reflection on a personal level and as a professional. I would say it's really been definitely a trying time. ... It's been positive at the end of the day because I've been able to handle those experiences and come out on top of them.”

Asked about his future beyond this year, Price indicated he doesn’t know how long he’ll play but he does know how he’d like to close out his career when that time does eventually come.

“I want to be able to finish playing at an acceptable level. I don't know how long that is, but you know, at the end of the day, I want to be able to say that I left the game playing well and not being a burden,” he said.

Shifting the focus to the more immediate future, Price said it’s “unlikely” he’d try to represent Canada at next month’s IIHF Men’s World Championship even though he'd like to suit up for the May tournament.  

“It's hard to make that call right now. I'm going to say it's unlikely, kind of given the way things have gone over the year,” he said. “It's something I would like to do. I've never had the opportunity to go to World Championships, and that's something that I've always wanted to do. But I don't know if right now is going to be the right time to go.”