Carey Price is proving the Habs made the right move by choosing him to be the No. 1 guy in goal.
To most, it didn't make sense.
When the Montreal Canadiens traded their most valuable player from last season, goaltender Jaroslav Halak, and turned the crease over to Carey Price, it was a gamble of the utmost proportions.
It was former GM Bob Gainey who trumpeted Price as the team's goalie of the future, but he was no longer in charge of the team and many wondered if new GM Pierre Gauthier would change the direction the team was going in net. You could surely make the case Gauthier put his career and reputation on the line with his decision to move Halak and keep Price.
Not that Price didn't have an upside. Winning was plastered all over his resume, with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship -- he was tournament MVP in 2007 -- and also with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, where he led the team to a championship and was named playoff MVP, but lately there were questions about his commitment and professionalism as well as his potential as an NHL starter.
Caandiens coach Jacques Martin said people really shouldn't be surprised with the organization's decision to go with Price over Halak.
"Halak had a great season last year and he's a very good goaltender, but when you look at Carey's size, his skill-set, the success he had in the past, I don't think it should be that surprising," Martin said. "If you look back at our team's history, I believe Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito both arrived ion Montreal at the same time and a decision had to be made then, too. Esposito turned out to be a great goalie, but I don't think anybody was critical keeping Dryden."
Well, fast forward to the first two months of the season and Price's success is easily one of the biggest stories of the year. After a rough start, during which he was booed off the ice following a miserable pre-season outing, Price has risen to the occasion as the NHL's busiest and arguably best stopper.
Former Montreal coach Jean Perron was one of the many who thought the Canadiens were cuckoo for going with Price over Halak who, by the way, has played superbly for the St. Louis Blues.
"You live in a fishbowl in Montreal," Perron said. "The pressure is incredible and yet, this season, he has been awesome. After the last two years people were wondering if he was going to be a flop. This year he has been unbelievable. I think he is the biggest story in the NHL this season."
Because of salary cap considerations, the Canadiens felt they could only commit to one of Price or Halak following last season. Considering Halak stole the crease in the playoffs and marched the Habs into the Eastern Conference final, many assumed he'd won the war. Thus it came as a surprise to many when Montreal announced it had traded Halak to St. Louis for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz June 17.
That left Price and a whole lot of questions in Montreal's goal crease.
To complicate matters further, the team's best player, defenceman Andrei Markov, has been limited to just seven games because of injuries, while the guys who are supposed to be leading the offensive charge, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez, have yet to kick it into gear.
Fortunately for Montreal, Price has been better than ever. He is the NHL's busiest goaltender logging 1,260:28 ice time through 21 of his team's 22 games (Alex Auld is 1-0 in his single start), leads the league with 13 wins, is tied for first with four shutouts, ranks fourth in save percentage (.933) and fifth in goals-against average (2.00).
Not bad for a guy whose reputation suggested he'd rather have a fun at night on Cresent Street than face shots at the Bell Centre.
It's a little too early in the process to mention Price's name in the same breath as past Hab greats in the crease -- the likes of Bill Durnan, Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy -- but it is safe to say the Canadiens made a brilliant decision when they elected to show faith in this 23-year old.
"We feel Carey learned a lot last year," Martin said. "He didn't get the results he would have liked, but the way he handled himself late in the year really earned him the respect of his teammates. The thing I like about Carey is his temperament. He doesn't get too high or too low. He has great composure for a young man."
Auld is slated to get his second start of the year Friday night in Atlanta. Price has earned the rest.
CASUAL OBSERVATIONS: A couple of players who shot out of the gate have seemingly hit the wall. Colorado's Chris Stewart scored 10 goals in his first 14 games, but has slumped with just one in his last eight. Meanwhile, Toronto's Clarke MacArthur surprised many with seven goals in the Leafs first 11 games, but has none in their last nine…When Daniel Sedin was injured last season his brother, Henrik, took his game to a new level becoming more of a goal-scorer (a career high of 29) than just a playmaker. He was rewarded with the NHL scoring title and the Hart Trophy as MVP. This season Henrik has taken a step back in terms of goal production with just two in 21 games and is on pace for a career-worst eight goals.
