Carey Price Left More Than Memories with the Canadiens

Sometimes you find out what a player really meant to a franchise by listening to the people who followed him. That’s what makes the recent comments from Montreal Canadiens players and head coach Martin St. Louis about Carey Price worth paying attention to.

Phillip Danault, Kaiden Guhle and St. Louis all spoke about Price’s impact, and something came through in their comments. They weren’t just talking about a great goalie. They were talking about someone who left a mark on an organization and the people around it.

Danault spoke about the privilege of playing for Montreal and the kind of impact Price had on the organization. He admitted he would never be Carey Price, but said players want to leave their own mark. That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Price became more than a teammate. He became someone other players could look up to.

St. Louis offered another interesting observation. He described Price as a quiet, confident presence. He didn’t need to make a big show of himself. His personality and his style of play seemed to fit together. He gave the people in front of him confidence, and that’s something a goaltender can’t manufacture by making saves alone.

There Were Very Few Goalies Like Carey Price

That’s also part of why Price’s Hall of Fame case is so strong. Look at what he accomplished. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, the Ted Lindsay Award and the Jennings Trophy in 2015. He also helped Canada win Olympic gold in 2014 and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Those are impressive accomplishments, but there’s another part of his story worth remembering. Price carried the hopes of a hockey-mad city for years. Montreal isn’t an easy place to play, particularly when you’re the last line of defence. Fans expect a lot, and Price gave them a reason to believe their team always had a chance.

His career didn’t finish the way anyone would have wished. Injuries took away some of the years he might otherwise have played. Injuries took away some of the years he might otherwise have played. But you shouldn’t judge a Hall of Fame career only by how long it lasted. You should also judge it by how good a player he was, what he accomplished, and what he meant to the game.

By those measures, Carey Price belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And judging by the way people in Montreal still talk about him, his place in Canadiens history is already secure.

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