Canadiens’ Price Hasn’t Changed A Bit And Commented On Explosive Habs

Former Montreal Canadiens franchise cornerstone Carey Price was at the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday to receive his HHOF ring; as is customary, he fielded questions from the press for just over 20 minutes and had some interesting things to say. The retired netminder hasn’t changed one bit; he made everyone chuckle when he said he never actually craved attention outside the crease and that he was “hoping to get a chance to shoot on himself downstairs” (the Hall has an interactive play area in which you get to try your hand at beating an NHL goaltender).

He was asked a few questions worth reporting, though. The Athletic’s Arpon Basu asked what he meant by saying he wanted to be remembered in Montreal as a regular human being. He explained:

I think hockey players are idolized. I looked up to hockey players when I was a kid, but the most important thing to me is that I’m not a perfect person. I have faults, and I’ve made mistakes. I’ve learned from those mistakes and, again, regrouped and tried to make myself better.

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Habs fans will be happy to learn that, growing up, Price looked up to another Canadiens great, Patrick Roy. The netminder also mentioned that “it’s pretty cool to go over to that wall over there and look at my picture and then look to my right and see Webs [Shea Weber] there too.

It was interesting to hear what he had to say when he was asked if he had ever contemplated taking his pads elsewhere:

I’ve always been a pretty loyal person, and I’ve never been traded before, you know. Even in Junior, I played in the same place my whole junior career, so I’ve always felt like it wasn’t going to be my decision. I’ve always felt like, you know, this is where I was supposed to be, and I’ve always felt like that even at times when it felt like I might not be. I just felt like I was going to work as hard as I could, be as good as I could, and let the cards fall where they may.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a player likely to answer that today; it seems that hockey has moved on and players are very much taking ownership of their careers, and in some cases, that means demanding trades despite having committed to long-term deals with no movement clauses; see Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin and Brady Tkachuk, for instance.

As for his favourite venues to play on the road, Price mentioned Boston because of the rivalry, added that Toronto felt like that too, and said he obviously liked playing back home in Vancouver.

If you’re dreaming about Price rejoining the fold in a coaching capacity, you’ll have to wait a while:

Definitely, you know, it’s still at the back of my mind, but to be honest with you, my life at home is my commitment now; when the time comes for me to do something, I’m not the type of person to do it halfway, and I don’t want to give myself in a half-hearted capacity. So you know, maybe when my kids are older, my priorities change, and I have that hunger to get back into the game, I’ll get back into it, but that time’s not yet.

But the most interesting question and answer, for that matter, came when he was asked if he gets some “what-if” scenarios watching the Canadiens these days and wonders just what might have happened if he had played behind so much firepower:

The first thing I think of is that, you know, the teams I played on were very defensive-minded, so that benefitted me, you know. And I look at the team that they have now, and they’re so exciting and explosive offensively that I really think they’ve got a chance to win, and I’m so excited to watch them every night. It’s a fun team to watch and to cheer on.

That answer reflects the kind of player and person Price is; he doesn’t lament the lack of offense when he played. Instead, he says the team’s defensive style helped him. He never makes excuses; he didn’t win a Stanley Cup, and he’s not about to blame his former teammates for that.

Finally, the man of the hour also tipped his hat to Jacob Fowler:

I love watching him play; he’s got a really quiet game. That’s what I love about him; he’s just fundamentally sound. It takes a certain type of personality and mentality to be a goaltender, and being a goaltender in Montreal, I feel like both those guys in there right now have that. It’s a fun part of their career. I’m so envious that they are at this stage in their lives, where they’ve proven themselves; you know, they have the opportunity to take a good team and go forward with it. I’m just excited for both of them.

As classy as ever, Price took a question about Fowler and turned it into a question about the Habs’ current tandem, including Jakub Dobes. It’s also interesting that he didn’t include Samuel Montembeault in that answer, but then again, the Becancour native hasn't played a single game this season. With the emotions Price was dealing with on Saturday, it’s an easy-to-understand oversight.

When the Canadiens host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, they'll hold a pregame ceremony honoring Price, and if there’s one game you should get to your seat early for this season, it’s that one. We can expect yet another fantastic pregame ceremony from the Habs.

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