Carey Price was back between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens in their final game of the 2021-22 NHL regular season on Friday. He made 37 saves on 39 shots and the Habs defeated the Presidents Trophy-winning Florida Panthers 10-2. Most of the talk coming out of the game, however, surrounds Price’s future in the NHL.
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There are real questions about whether or not Price can be an effective goaltender over long stretches and his injury situation still needs to be addressed. In fact, based on recent comments, Price is terribly confident that he’ll be making a return to the NHL if his injury situation stays as it is.
The action he did get in to close the year was meant to give him an indication as to where he’s at in his recovery. Things don’t look promising if the intention is to split the 2022-23 season and share a good chunk of the workload with Jake Allen or another netminder. When asked about how he’s feeling about the idea of returning next year and playing a good chunk of games, Arpon Basu of The Athletic quoted Price who said, “My honest opinion is no. I don’t believe the current state would be sustainable for a full season.”
When he laced them up on Friday and before he took the ice, Price admitted thoughts of Friday’s game being his last were real. At the same time, his plan is to get a second opinion on his knee and said, “I’ve always been a fighter…so I’m not giving up.”
Price Comments Might Be The Best Indicator of His Future
To hear Price actually come out and state succinctly that he’s not sure if he’ll keep playing is interesting. Typically players don’t offer up that kind of honesty and he sounds rather definitive. The plan will be to rehab during the offseason but the Canadiens would like to know what his future holds, if possible, before the start of free agency.
If the Canadiens need to put Price on LTIR and go find a replacement goaltender, it would be good to know that he’s out for the year and that they have a huge chunk of money from their cap to spend on finding someone else.
Price has four seasons remaining on his current contract, one that pays him $10.5 million per season.
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