A new detail has emerged about Carey Price, and it’s the kind that immediately catches your attention: he was prepared to lace them up again in Winnipeg if the calendar had cooperated.
Angela Price revealed that the former Canadiens goaltender would have taken part in the Montreal Canadiens alumni game on October 24, the night before the outdoor matchup between Montreal and Winnipeg. The only thing that stopped it was a scheduling conflict.
That makes the announcement of his absence from the exhibition game look a lot different in hindsight. The roster release had already confirmed Price wouldn’t be there, but it didn’t spell out why. Now it’s clear the door wasn’t closed on a return to the crease so much as blocked by timing.
It’s a striking development for a player who hasn’t been seen in goalie gear in years and hasn’t been on the ice since his NHL retirement. Still, the idea of Price appearing in one game seems to have remained realistic, even if the full demands of an NHL season are no longer something his body can handle.
The timing also lines up with a major week ahead for Price. He is scheduled to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, then honoured at the Bell Centre the next day. His entire family, including Angela, will be in Montreal for the ceremony, setting up what already figures to be an emotional stretch for the Prices.
Price is 39 years old and, during his playing career, measured 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds.
In Other News...
Canadiens Prospects Just Gave Fans Three New Reasons To Pay Attention
The Canadiens NCAA pipeline keeps giving the organization more to track as another college season approaches, and the latest group of prospects brings a little bit of everything. Michael Hage is headed back to Michigan, LJ Mooney is coming off a strong freshman year at Minnesota, and Timofei Runtso is moving into the college game after a productive WHL run. For a club still trying to build out its future, those are the kinds of names that can quietly start shaping the conversation around what comes next.
Mooney is the one who already looks closest to forcing a decision, since his play at Minnesota has put him on the radar for a possible entry-level contract if he keeps trending up. Hages return gives Montreal another important look at a player whose development path has already been tested, while Runtso adds another fresh layer of intrigue once he settles in at Miami. The Canadiens do not need all of these prospects to hit at once, but they do need some of them to keep moving, and this fall should tell the team a lot about which ones are ready to push forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Dach Just Put A Canadiens Bounce-Back Season Back In Focus
Kirby Dach is back in Brossard as the Canadiens continue their lead-up to training camp, and his return puts a familiar offseason storyline back at the center of Montreals plans. After a limited and disappointing last season, the forward heads into the new year with a new contract in place as a restricted free agent, and his presence at the teams training base arrives as several teammates are already getting work in before camp officially opens.
The bigger question around Dach remains the same one that followed him through the spring: whether the flashes he showed in the playoffs can carry into a full bounce-back season. Montreal has spent much of the summer talking about growth, health and internal improvement, and Dach sits right in the middle of that conversation as one of the players whose next step could shape the teams outlook. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Goalie Situation Suddenly Hinges On Winnipegs Next Move
The Canadiens goaltending picture is suddenly tied to a bigger conversation out in Winnipeg, where any serious trade talk involving Connor Hellebuyck could ripple across the market and put Montreal in a spot it may have to address before long. Samuel Montembeault sits at the center of that uncertainty, with the current chatter suggesting the Canadiens could be watching the deadline landscape closely rather than treating their crease as settled.
Montembeaults future is already a talking point because a move before the deadline has been viewed as plausible, and the uncertainty only grows if the Jets decide to shift course. If Winnipeg starts asking around on Montreals goalie, the discussion could widen quickly, but for now it remains all speculation and there have been no confirmed transactions to report. [Read more 🡒]