Canadiens: Price Meets The Press

As one might have expected, the former Montreal Canadiens franchise goaltender was met by a horde of reporters when he arrived at the Bell Centre. The scrum was so imposing that he even had to jump down from the stage of the arena’s conference room to find his spot in the middle of the crowd, prompting comments about his knee being just fine, but he landed on the other one just to be safe. Roughly an hour and a half before appearing before the fans, he explained:

It’s going to be very emotional for me out there, but I am looking forward to it. Speeches were never my thing, but I'm excited to go out there and share the moment with the people who have supported me all these years.

Asked what it meant for him to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame exclusively, as a Canadiens, he mentioned:

Obviously I'm very proud to go out there in general, but I've played for 15 years for the Montreal Canadiens, and I’m just incredibly proud to have done so.

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As for how he would describe his weekend, he gave a typical Price reply: It was definitely a whirlwind; I’m thankful for it, but I’m definitely ready not to be the center of attention.

That surprised no one; the netminder never sought the spotlight and even just speaking to his former teammate in the room was stressful for him, so much so that he didn’t even notice his own plaque in the dressing room while talking to them:

I was just in there to give a speech, and I didn’t even look at it.

Of course, he was always going to be asked about the current state of the team and what it meant to him to see the Caufield, the Suzuki they played with, to see the state of the team in such a positive way:

It’s just exciting. I remember what it was like to be a young player here, and you can tell by their enthusiasm on the ice how excited they are to be here, to be a part of this organization. It sure is fun to watch; it’s like they can come back from anything and beat anybody.

When he watches them play, he still feels invested:

Yeah, a little bit. I try and back off a little bit, you know, I’ve lived it. I don’t think I’ll ever be as emotionally involved as when I was playing, but I sure am excited to watch them play.

Once again asked if he wished he had that kind of firepower in front of him when he was playing, he stuck to the answer he gave in Toronto a couple of days earlier: "Well, I’m sure thankful for the defence that we played." As for what he said to the players in the room that was so distracting he missed his own plaque, he chuckled: I was trying to be enthusiastic. I’ve never been a hype man, so… just trying to bring the energy, which isn't me usually.

While he never really relished the attention, the netminder was happy to get one last chance to be celebrated in Montreal:

Yeah, it’s definitely, you know, when you end your career, there’s a picture of riding off into the sunset, and I didn’t feel like it happened, but I felt the love regardless. I had time to reflect on everything a little, but over time, it made me even more thankful.

As for what he misses the most about being a Montreal Canadiens player, Price explained: playing the games. I miss that nervous energy, but I know at the end of that nervous energy I’m going to do something I’m good at.

Asked to describe a moment that sticks out for him at the Bell Centre, he reminisced: probably that night with Patrick’s [Roy] retirement; it was very special, and I have a picture of that in my memorabilia room. It’s pretty special to be a part of things like this. But that doesn’t mean he’s thought about having his own jersey retired: No, I’m just taking things in, one step at a time. I’ve always been like that. I’m just thankful to be here tonight and be able to share this with everybody.

And he truly got to share it with everybody just over an hour later, standing on the Bell Center ceremonial carpet, being showered with applause; you could see it was hitting him right in the feels to have those fans, his fans, cheer for him one last time. There’s no guarantee that one day his number 31 will be in the rafters with Roy’s 33, but if it does, you know it will hit him differently. For now, though, he’s on the Ring of Honor, and former captain Shea Weber, a good friend of his, unveiled his number up there. Even if his number never ends up in the rafters, though, his plaque in the dressing room is what really matters; he’s now one of the faces the players can look up to and draw inspiration from. Interestingly, his plaque is right above the goaltenders’ stalls.

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