Canadiens' Carey Price: Confirms playing days are done
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Price (knee) confirmed Tuesday that he won't play hockey again, Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports.
Price's retirement won't be official until the end of his contract in 2026, so he can be expected to remain on long-term injured reserve for the next three years. "The honest thing is right now, it's just not going to happen," Price said. "To take the stress of the goaltending position, (the knee) is not where it needs to be. So for now, I'm just going to continue to try and rehab my knee to a position where it's fit for life in general." While Price's playing days are over, it's possible he could continue with the Canadiens' organization in a coaching or front office position once his contract expires. He finishes his NHL career with a 361-261-79 record, a 2.51 GAA, a .917 save percentage and 49 shutouts in 712 career regular-season games, all with the Canadiens. He also appeared in 92 playoff contests, going 43-45 with a 2.39 GAA, .919 save percentage and eight shutouts. At the international level, he also won gold medals at the 2007 World Junior Championship, the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with Canada.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Will be placed on offseason LTIR
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Price (knee) will be placed on offseason long-term injured reserve Wednesday, Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports.
Price reportedly has not responded well to treatment for his injured knee and isn't expected to be available for the start of the 2022-23 campaign, so the Canadiens have decided to free up some cap space for the recently-signed Kirby Dach by proactively putting Price on offseason LTIR. Although at this point his future still remains up in the air, it's looking more and more likely that Price's playing days may be over.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Status for 2022-23 in doubt
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Price (knee) has not responded well to treatment and is unlikely to be available to start the 2022-23 season, Eric Engels of Sportsnet.ca reports.
It's expected Price will officially be placed on long-term injured reserve before the season starts. It's also possible Price is unable to play at all in 2022-23, so the Canadiens will likely be leaning more heavily on Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault for the upcoming campaign. Price has four years left on a deal that carries a $10.5 million cap hit, and the future of his playing career is murky at best.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Undergoes knee procedure
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Price (knee) underwent a "small procedure" on his knee recently, and the Canadiens are waiting to see how he responds to it, Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports.
General manager Kent Hughes clarified that it was not an operation that Price underwent, though the specific details are unknown. The goalie was limited to five games in 2021-22 due to a long recovery from knee surgery last offseason, and it appears health will continue to be a concern for him heading into next year.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Meets with specialist
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Price met with a specialist in Pittsburgh regarding his knee following the season, John Lu of TSN.ca reports.
According to general manager Kent Hughes, how Price's knee responds to further treatment will be crucial in providing clarity as the Canadiens approach the draft and free agency this summer. If Price's knee doesn't improve, the 34-year-old netminder will likely be forced into an early retirement.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: In net for finale
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Price (undisclosed) will start Friday's season finale against the Panthers.
A recent evaluation must have revealed no risk of injury, as the Canadiens would have no reason to deploy Price in this meaningless game if he wasn't fully healthy. Even with Florida sitting most of its key contributors in preparation for the postseason, Price won't be an advisable fantasy option given his 0-4-0 record, 4.03 GAA and .853 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Heading for evaluation
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Price (undisclosed) will travel with the team to New York (ahead of Wednesday's game against the Rangers) for a medical evaluation.
Already confirmed unavailable Wednesday, Price will have just one opportunity to return in the team's final game of the season Friday against visiting Florida. Given his injury history and struggles in just four outings this season (4.03 GAA, .853 save percentage), it wouldn't be surprising if he doesn't suit up again until 2022-23.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Making road start
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Price will patrol the crease during Saturday's road game versus the Senators, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Price struggled in his last start Thursday against the Flyers, allowing six goals on 34 shots en route to a 6-3 loss. He'll try to secure his first win of the year in a road matchup with an Ottawa team that's 13-21-4 at home this season.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Struggles against Flyers
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Price allowed six goals on 34 shots in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Flyers.
After getting zero goals of support from Montreal's offense in his first two starts of the season, Price did himself no favors in the third, allowing two goals in each period. James van Riemsdyk scored the first and last goals against Price, and the Flyers added four others in between. Price is 0-3 this season, but the important thing is that he's healthy and should be able to hit the ground running next year.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: No help in shutout loss
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Price stopped 28 of 30 shots in Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Wild.
Price wasn't bad but got no support from his teammates. He's 0-2-0 despite posting an excellent 2.02 GAA and .918 save percentage since making his season debut. Price could provide some late-season fantasy value, though doing so won't be easy considering he plays for a Montreal team that's bringing up the rear in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: In goal versus Wild
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Price will get the starting nod at home against Minnesota on Tuesday.
Price's season debut was a relatively quiet outing, as he faced just 19 shots, stopping 17 in a losing effort against the Islanders. The veteran netminder will likely continue to see a portion of the workload heading into the final six games of the season but shouldn't be expected to overwork himself considering he missed the majority of the season due to a long-term knee injury.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Making trip
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Price (knee) will travel with the team to Columbus, but he won't play Wednesday versus the Blue Jackets, John Lu of TSN.ca reports.
Price appears to be close to making his season debut, as he's been traveling and practicing with the team for some time now, but exactly when the 34-year-old vet will get between the pipes remains to be seen. With Jake Allen (lower body) also battling an injury, Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau will operate as Montreal's top-two netminders for the time being.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Confirmed out next two games
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Price (knee), who has been practicing with the team, won't play in either of the Canadiens' next two games, Eric Engels of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Price has slowly been working his way back from a long-term knee problem and there was some indication he could be cleared to play soon. Instead, the netminder will need to wait at least two more games before getting a look. It's possible the club could send him down to AHL Laval on a conditioning assignment rather than tossing him directly into an NHL contest.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Makes appearance at practice
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Price (knee) practiced with the team for the first time this season Saturday.
Although Price is clearly making progress in his recovery, there's still no timeline for his return, and with the Canadiens well out of the playoff race, it wouldn't be surprising to see the 34-year-old goaltender ultimately miss the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Faces shots
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Price (knee) has been facing shots for the first time since undergoing surgery last July, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
Price resumed skating last week after being held off the ice for a three-week stretch beginning mid-February. That return morphed into taking shots, a hopeful sign that the goalie may play this season. Another possibility is that the Canadiens trade Price, who turns 35 years old in August.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Remains off ice
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Price (knee) will not resume skating next week, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
Per Montreal vice president of communications Chantal Machabee on Friday, Price's off-ice work is progressing well, but the goalie "won't be on the ice this upcoming week." It's been more than two weeks since Price last took to the ice. Back in January, Price said playing this season was still a goal but the number of starts, stops and setbacks suggest this will be a lost season for the 34-year-old netminder.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Not skating this week
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Price (knee) is not expected to return this week.
Price will refrain from skating and continue training in a gym as a part of a rehab program. Montreal has five games February games remaining on its schedule. Last season, the now 34-year-old posted a 25-16-5 record with 2.47 GAA and .913 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Still not seeing shots
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Price (knee) skated with an assistant athletic therapist for about 20 minutes prior to Monday's practice, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
Price was in full gear but has yet to face any shots since he's resumed skating. The positive takeaways are that he skated longer Monday than in previous sessions, and the goalie did not suffer a setback, as was the case in earlier attempts to return from the knee injury.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Resumes skating
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Price (knee) skated for 10 minutes in full equipment with a member of the Canadiens' training staff over the weekend, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
The goalie has not yet resumed a full-blown practice, but the session with the trainer is a hopeful sign. The skate occurred Saturday morning, the day before Price met with the media for the first time since July 7. During that press availability, Price responded "yes" to the two biggest questions -- does he want to play this season and does he want to remain with Montreal.
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Canadiens' Carey Price: Won't practice for two more weeks
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Price (knee) is expected to return to the ice in two weeks, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Price still has a long way to go in his recovery from knee surgery, which has stalled out due to swelling at the site of the injury. Given that he will likely need multiple weeks to ramp up his recovery process if everything goes well, he shouldn't be expected to play until mid-February at the earliest.
