When you mention Carey Price to any Montreal Canadiens fan, you can see the joy come to their face. A Montreal icon that held the hearts and minds of an entire province. Like the great goaltenders of the Habs past, such as Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante, Price will go down in history as this generation’s superstar. However, all things must come to an end, and in the last year of his contract, it is time for the organization to let his contract go and use the money wisely.
Price Wasn’t Always the Hero
When Price was drafted, many fans questioned why Bob Gainey (the general manager/GM at the time) would draft a goalie fifth overall when it was a scoring forward they needed the most in 2005. After all, they had Jose Theodore, who was two seasons removed from winning the Hart and Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and top goaltender, and had just finished the 2003-04 season with 33 wins, a .917 save percentage (SV%) and 2.27 goals-against average (GAA) (2004-05 season was cancelled due to lockout).
Price had somewhat of a rocky start to his NHL career as well, not so much in the regular season, where he would split duties with Cristobal Huet and then Jaroslav Halak. It was the playoffs where he struggled, so much so that Halak took over in the 2010 Playoffs and almost single-handedly led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final, but was stopped short in the conference final by the Philadelphia Flyers. After this run, many fans were divided on which goaltender Montreal should keep; both needed contracts. In the end, management went with Price, and the rest is history. Price would go on to become a superstar, leading the Habs to the conference finals before a knee injury ended his playoff run in 2014, and then to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Price’s Contract Has Become a Burden
Since 2021, Price has barely played due to injuries, and after playing only five games in 2021-22, he stopped playing hockey altogether. With four years left on his contract and not officially retiring, the Canadiens have been on the hook for his $10.5 million contract, whether he plays or not. This creates a problem for the team and its cap situation, as a significant amount of money is allocated to a player who doesn’t play. For the past three seasons, Kent Hughes, the Habs’ current GM, has had to navigate the convoluted rules of long-term injury reserve (LTIR), which allows the team to use the player’s cap hit to go over the cap limit, but with laws and regulations. For example, the team must be cap compliant at the beginning of the season with Price’s full $10.5 million under the cap.
If they have cap space left when they put Price on LTIR, then they lose the difference between Price’s average annual value (AAV) and what cap space is left. Suppose he has to go on LTIR to make the team cap compliant at the start of the season. In that case, the team has to put him on LTIR before the season, and they can only use what is left on his AAV. For example, if they have $6 million left in cap space but will go over with Price, they will only have $4.5 million to work with from the LTIR pool. LTIR money is also not accrued and can’t be used later. As you can see, there are numerous issues and obstacles to using LTIR. Although Hughes managed Price’s LTIR quite well, it would be easier for him to trade the contract altogether now that the team is transitioning from the rebuild stage to the playoff/contending stage.
What Teams Would Be Interested, and What Would a Trade Look Like?
The biggest question is which team would want to take on a $10.5 million contract, and why it would benefit them to do so. Most teams that are at or near the cap floor would want to add to their cap space to avoid hitting it at the trade deadline if they move players for draft picks. So far, only four teams are within $10 million of the cap floor, which is set at $70.6 million for the 2025-26 season; of those four teams, only the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks are in a full-on rebuild. The other two teams, the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets, are in a state of limbo, unsure of which direction they are heading.
Related: Carey Price: Saying Farewell to a Canadiens Legend
With the field narrowed down to a handful of teams, the Blackhawks and Sharks would be the best fit to take on Price’s contract. The Canadiens are over the cap by $5.93 million and must make a move to be compliant by the season opener. Price is due a signing bonus in September, and once that is paid, it will be easier to move his contract because it will only be $2 million of actual money going to the player. Not only will moving Price cover their cap overages, but it will also leave them with over $4 million in cap space for the rest of the season, which could help them improve the team either before the start of the season or during it.
The Sharks or Blackhawks can benefit because it will give them the freedom to trade bigger contracts at the deadline to acquire high draft picks for their rebuild, allowing them to stay above the cap floor in the process. The Canadiens, however, might have to give up one or two draft picks to facilitate the contract move. They have 10 draft picks next season, four of them in the first three rounds, but only one first-round pick. Since both San Jose and Chicago will be helped out, it may only cost the Habs a second-round pick or a first-round pick in 2027. Hughes is also good at getting the best deal for his team; he could even spare his picks and throw in a prospect instead.
Everything suggests that Price’s tenure in Montreal will come to an end before he retires. It’s sad to think about it from a fan’s point of view, but from a business perspective, it makes sense for the organization. Maybe before he officially retires, he can sign a one-day contract with Montreal and retire a Canadien.
