Obviously, ex-Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price hasn’t played a game in years. And, while he may have at one point in time struck fear in the hearts of opponents, that time has long since passed. After all, he’s for all intents and purposes retired, all but officially speaking anyway.
With that, it should be no shock that the Canadiens have long since moved on, at least as much as fate would allow up to now. Still, it’s somewhat ironic that, without one of the best goalies in franchise history, the Habs having just traded his contract to the San Jose Sharks, facing Montreal should be an even scarier proposition heading into 2025-26. And, to be clear, we’re not talking about just the last few years, during which the Habs, now unshackled from the cap restraints of Price’s contract, had been forced to place it on long-term injured reserve each and every fall like clockwork. We’re also talking about a decade ago during Price’s peak.
To avoid confusion, put another way: The Canadiens have the capacity to be stronger team (at least on paper) now than with a healthy Price, and the rest of the NHL had better take notice.
Revisiting the Canadiens’ 2021 Run to Stanley Cup Final
While that can be construed as a shocking statement, look back to the team that went on to reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. Up to now, that roster could have genuinely been considered the best Canadiens teams since the 1993 Stanley Cup. Even that edition of the team effectively crawled into the playoffs, literally losing the last five games of the regular season and beating out the Calgary Flames for the last spot in the North Division by four points.
One thing you probably remember most of that Canadiens run those playoffs is how much the team’s top four defensemen (Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Jeff Petry and the similarly still-under-contract, but unofficially retired Shea Weber) starred. They were an undeniable feel-good story, but their success spoke to how ineffectively the team was built, to for all intents and purposes insulate Price and fall back into a defensive shell upon taking the lead.
Considering Price’s inability to actually provide offense, on top of his $10.5 million cap hit, that tied then-general manager Marc Bergevin’s hands somewhat. As heartbreaking a defeat as the 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final was, it was also very predictable based on the 3.26 goals per game the Bolts scored those playoffs compared to the Habs’ 2.32. Out of 16 teams, they ranked 12th, with the four teams below them having been eliminated in Round 1. It’s part of the reason the Habs also ranked 15th in terms of goals differential above expected that postseason (five on five), per MoneyPuck.com. During the regular season, they also ranked well in the bottom third with a 26th-ranked -10.11.
Related: Carey Price Extension a Necessary Evil
That isn’t to say the Canadiens didn’t deserve their success. They obviously did. You don’t make it through three playoff rounds on luck alone. It’s more so an argument that, the way the Habs were built, no one should have expected long-term sustainable success. With exception to Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield who were 21 and 19 respectively and years away from stardom, you didn’t really have game-breaking ability up front.
Take away Price, with him missing all but five games of 2021-22 due to a variety of issues, health-related and not, and it’s no surprise the Habs fell to the bottom of the standings (with Weber’s coinciding “retirement” obviously failing to do the team any favours either).
Montembeault vs. Price
That also isn’t to say the Canadiens enjoyed significant success on that same front this past regular season. They were a middle-of-the-road team with an 18th-ranked -2.6 goals differential above expected. However, the closer-to-zero number implies the team is performing close to as one would expect, based on the quality of their play. If it’s well below zero, you’re perceived to be underperforming with a lack of finishing ability or inferior goaltending. Considering Sam Montembeault, who the Habs coincidentally acquired off waivers to start 2021-22, as Price’s future hung in the balance, was among the league leaders in goals saved above expected this past season, it’s obviously not the latter.
The difference between Montembeault regularly saving the Canadiens’ bacon (whereas before it was Price) should be clear. His $3.15 million cap hit obviously affords GM Kent Hughes much more flexibility. On top of that, you’ve got the youngest projected team in the NHL with a core, including a much more mobile defense than in the past, that is collectively moving towards its prime as a unit. Say what you want about their individual levels of defensive awareness, which will ideally improve over time, but this certainly isn’t a team that will be satisfied with being hemmed in, in their own zone.
To his credit, Montembeault has emerged as a legitimate NHL starter, whereas upon his arrival he was widely seen as an AHL one. In that sense, he’s an exception to the rule where the Habs had been teetering on the edge of regression, with Price and Weber having been as old as they were without any viable succession plans at the time.
Their retirements taught the Canadiens a harsh lesson that they need to better prepare for the future. Not only is that future on the verge of becoming a reality, a half-decade and one administration change later, but the prospect pipeline is in great shape from the net out and should remain that way for years to come. The Habs have nothing to worry about for a long time. You can’t really say the same for the rest of the league.
