The latest news on Carey Price’s health is not encouraging.
Speaking to reporters following the acquisition of Sean Monahan, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was asked to provide an update on Price’s recovery from a knee injury that robbed him of all but five games last season. The update is far from the hopeful message fans were hoping for, with Hughes saying that Price will not be ready for the start of the coming season and might not suit up in 2022-23 at all.
After undergoing off-season knee surgery in the summer of 2021, Price missed the first 74 games of the regular season last year, enduring a number of setbacks in the process that at times threatened to end his career before miraculously working his way back into playing form and returning to the Canadiens lineup for five games to close out the year, earning his first win in the club’s final game of the year versus the President’s Trophy-winning Florida Panthers.
Price was also remarkably open about his struggles off of the ice throughout his lengthy recovery, as the former Vezina winner entered the NHL’s player assistance program in December, preaching the importance of mental health outside of the rink.
Under contract for $10.5 million annually for the next four seasons, Price will almost certainly be placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve by the Canadiens following training camp and allow the club to spend above the salary cap limit for as long as he is out.
If this is the end of the line for Price in the NHL, the sport has lost one of the best goaltenders of his generation and a dominant player when at the peak of his powers.