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Carey Price

Snapshots: Johnson, Price, Lehner

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Jack Johnson is in Colorado Avalanche camp on a professional tryout, but that could be converted to an NHL deal before long. Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that things are “trending in the direction” of a new contract, though nothing has been filed just yet. An injury to Devon Toews has opened a potential spot for the veteran defenseman, who, according to Baugh’s source, had interest from other teams before deciding to head to Colorado.

The 34-year-old is coming off a one-year, $1.15MM deal with the New York Rangers, but is still earning a little more than $916K from the Pittsburgh Penguins in each of the next five seasons, thanks to a buyout in 2020. It’s been a brutal few years for Johnson, who has played in 950 regular season games over a long career but has posted terrible analytics for many of them. In a depth role perhaps he can be effective for the Avalanche, but there’s little chance of him being a real impact player for them at this point.

  • The Montreal Canadiens were hoping that Carey Price would be ready for the start of the regular season after undergoing knee surgery earlier this offseason, but that may not be the case. Head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters including John Lu of TSN that Price is currently dealing with a non-COVID illness that is keeping him off the ice and the team is “less confident now” that he’ll be ready for the first game. The fact that the Canadiens claimed Sam Montembeault off waivers this weekend makes sense if that’s the case, though Price is still not expected to miss a huge chunk of the regular season schedule.
  • Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner stirred up hockey Twitter this weekend with a series of tweets alleging various wrongdoings across the league and tagged both the NHLPA and NHL to offer to speak directly to them. League commissioner Gary Bettman joined Jeff Marek on Sportsnet radio this afternoon and commented on the situation, explaining that the league will soon speak directly to Lehner to “hear his concerns directly” and then “follow up to see what merit there may be.” So far, the league has not announced any official investigations into any of the concerns raised by the veteran goaltender, which included allegations of team personnel providing benzodiazepines and Ambien to players.

Injury Updates: Lehner, Canadiens, Zamula, Athanasiou, De Haan

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While Robin Lehner left Thursday’s game after two periods due to injury, Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters, including David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that the decision to pull him was more precautionary than a sign of a significant injury.  Lehner will be counted to carry on a much bigger workload this season with Laurent Brossoit now the backup for the Golden Knights so it’s certainly understandable that DeBoer erred on the side of caution in Lehner’s first appearance of the preseason.

Other injury news and notes from around the NHL:

  • After stopping on-ice workouts for defenseman Joel Edmundson and goaltender Carey Price, both Canadiens are expected to resume those next week, mentions TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). Edmundson was listed as day-to-day entering training camp while Price’s availability for the start of the season remains in question following offseason surgery.  Winger Cole Caufield is also close to returning after being shut down following a minor injury during the warmup of an intrasquad game.
  • Flyers defenseman Yegor Zamula will miss the next three to four weeks due to a strain in his hip/groin area, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The 21-year-old is one of Philadelphia’s more promising prospects and made his NHL debut with a pair of games last season.  While he had an outside shot at breaking camp with the team, this will basically put an end to that possibility.
  • Kings winger Andreas Athanasiou sustained an undisclosed injury in practice earlier this week but at this point, he’s unlikely to miss the start of the regular season, notes Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. The 27-year-old had 23 points in 47 games last season, earning him a $2.7MM contract to avoid salary arbitration.
  • Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan revealed to reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that he played the second half of last season with a fractured tibia. The 30-year-old is entering the final year of his contract that carries a $4.45MM cap hit and will need a much better showing this season to have a shot at coming close to that AAV next summer.  Being healthy now is certainly a step in the right direction on that front.

Montreal Canadiens Announce Several Injuries

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Saturday: Hoffman is expected to miss four weeks, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie.  On that timeline, he will miss the first few games of the regular season.

Thursday: The Montreal Canadiens started their on-ice portion of training camp today, but they were a bit shorthanded. The team announced that Paul Byron, Mike Hoffman, Joel Teasdale, Josh Brook, and Carey Price all failed their physicals as they deal with various injuries. All five players are “most likely” out for the entire camp.

While the news about Price isn’t unexpected, the fact that Hoffman is going to miss all of camp came as a surprise to many after he signed a three-year, $13.5MM contract this offseason. The 31-year-old sniper is dealing with a lower-body injury and it is not clear if he will miss any of the season at this point.

Hoffman was signed to add a little more scoring punch to a group that finished 17th in goals for last season. They bid farewell to Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, Corey Perry, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but should be getting a full season from young phenom Cole Caufield. One of the most consistent goal-scoring and powerplay threats in the league, Hoffman has scored 186 goals over the last seven seasons, including 17 in 52 games last year.

The Canadiens, who went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, will have a difficult path to the playoffs this year. The divisions are back to normal, meaning the Atlantic Division is packed with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, all teams that finished ahead of Montreal last season. Early injuries can be overcome, but they certainly won’t make things easier.

Snapshots: 2022 Draft, Price, Ylonen

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Though the hockey calendar is starting to get back to normal, it looks like the 2022 NHL Draft may actually still be delayed from its normal late-June timeline. Corey Pronman of The Athletic tweets that the draft is likely to take place in the second week of July next year. Remember, now that the league has agreed to go to the Olympics the season schedule is a little longer than usual, which has seemingly pushed offseason dates back should Pronman’s expectation prove true.

Even though it won’t happen until next July, it’s never too early to start getting excited for the next wave of prospects. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released his preseason top-32 ranking today, which has Shane Wright in the top spot as expected. Despite the OHL not playing last season, Wright remains the best prospect available in 2022 and is considered a lock by Wheeler at this point to be first off the board. The rest of the list has plenty of interesting scouting information on the top prospects available a year from now.

  • On July 23, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Carey Price underwent knee surgery and would face a recovery timeline of 10-12 weeks. The release included an expectation that he would be ready for the start of the regular season, and though Price has not yet begun skating, he is confident in the rehab he has been doing. The goaltender spoke with Dave Stubbs of NHL.com to discuss the injury and recovery, confirming that it had been a torn meniscus that he was dealing with for a while before the surgery. If all goes well, he’ll be back on the ice soon; his original timeline had him almost exactly synced up with the Canadiens’ season opener on October 13.
  • Speaking of Canadiens games, the organization expects young winger Jesse Ylonen to play in NHL games this season after spending last year with the Laval Rocket. That’s what director of player development Rob Ramage told Eric Engels of Sportsnet, though Ylonen will obviously still have to prove he’s ready to make the jump from Laval to Montreal. The 21-year-old was the 35th overall pick in 2018, had 17 points in 29 games with the Rocket, and actually made his NHL debut by playing 11:23 in the final game of the regular season.

Snapshots: Giroux, Price, Turcotte

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The Philadelphia Flyers locked up Sean Couturier today a year before he reached free agency, but they won’t be doing the same for captain Claude Giroux. When GM Chuck Fletcher spoke with the media about the contract, he indicated that he would be waiting until after the season to speak about a new deal with Giroux. He didn’t mince words when explaining why the Couturier deal happened so early:

Sean’s our best hockey player right now, and he’s the key guy. If Sean had left, that would’ve changed the direction of the franchise. To lock him up was incredibly important for the short and long term. 

Fletcher did suggest that the relationship between the Flyers and Giroux could continue beyond this season, but both sides are happy to wait and see how the year plays out before making any decisions. The 33-year-old Giroux has played his entire career to this point in Philadelphia and had 43 points in 54 games this season. His eight-year, $66.2MM contract that was signed in 2013 will expire at the end of 2021-22, making him an unrestricted free agent.

  • There was a ton of speculation about the health of Carey Price this offseason, but head coach Dominique Ducharme told the media today including Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic that the veteran goaltender will be there when the Montreal Canadiens kick off training camp next month (or at worst join just a few days into it). Price’s health was a huge topic of conversation when he was left exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion process, but more important is his impact on the Canadiens lineup. When healthy and playing his best, Price is still among the top goaltenders in the world. But injury issues have been a problem in recent years and he just turned 34. Price has five seasons remaining on the eight-year, $84MM deal he signed in 2017 and will earn a total of $13MM this season through signing bonuses and salary.
  • Alex Turcotte, who is hoping to make his NHL debut this season with the Los Angeles Kings, underwent successful surgery for acute appendicitis. The young forward is still expected to be recovered in time for the start of rookie camp in a few weeks. Turcotte, 20, was the fifth-overall pick in 2019 and scored 21 points in 32 games for the Ontario Reign last season in his first taste of professional hockey.

Carey Price Undergoes Knee Surgery, Will Be Ready For Next Season

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The Montreal Canadiens tweeted today that goaltender Carey Price had successful knee surgery and will be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season.

The news comes after much had been made over Price’s health the past week. After being shockingly left unprotected for the Seattle Expansion Draft, it was quickly revealed that Price had issues with both his knee and hip and may miss significant time. However, clarity came today for both the team and player and Price should be on the ice for Montreal’s October 13th opener on the road in Toronto.

While Price’s admirable run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final isn’t to be forgotten anytime soon, he’ll hope to recover enough to have a bounce-back 2021-22 season. Price has struggled in recent years, putting up save percentages below .910 in consecutive seasons for the first time in his 14-year NHL career. But a tandem of him and Jake Allen seemed to do Montreal wonders last season, providing Price with his first real safety net in almost a decade. But with defenseman Shea Weber missing the entirety of next season, Price and Allen’s jobs may get a bit tougher next year if they can’t find a suitable replacement for Weber’s minutes this offseason.

Canadiens Give Update On Price, Weber, Drouin

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The reports of Carey Price’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin took to the podium today to speak with the media and indicated that the veteran goaltender will see doctors to examine some injuries, but the team isn’t expecting anything major. Bergevin gave an estimate of six-to-eight weeks recovery and noted there was a “small percentage” that it would be longer, once they determined the extent.

Price was left unprotected in the recent expansion draft, and rumors had been swirling that he might miss part of next season thanks to hip and knee injuries. That seems unlikely now, though at his age–Price will turn 34 in a few weeks–things can obviously change quickly.

Bergevin also spoke about Shea Weber, with much less confidence he will ever return to the Canadiens lineup. As Eric Engels of Sportsnet tweets, Weber is dealing with injuries to his ankle, foot, knee, and thumb and will not play next season. Bergevin even noted that he “probably won’t be back for his career.”

If it is indeed the end for Weber, it comes directly after the longest playoff run of his career, captaining the Canadiens all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The 35-year-old defenseman has played in 1,038 regular season games, racking up 224 goals and 589 points. Weber sits 15th all-time in goals from a defenseman and could very well be headed for the Hall of Fame when he officially retires.

That likely won’t be for some time though, as there are still five years left on Weber’s contract. His injury status should give the team grounds to move him to long-term injured reserve for those years, allowing Weber to collect the $12MM still owed to him. It would also give the team some added cap flexibility, but obviously takes an important piece of their lineup out.

His will still be a story to follow closely, if only because of the cap recapture penalties that could be enforced on the Nashville Predators if Weber retires before his contract expires. Remember though, recapture penalties were changed in the last CBA, meaning that no single-year penalty can be greater than the contract’s cap hit. It means, instead of the $24.5MM penalty that Nashville potentially faced if Weber retired in 2025, they would instead incur penalties of $7.85MM for three years, and then $1MM in 2028-29. Not exactly ideal still, but at least not completely crippling.

After Price and Weber were discussed, Bergevin moved to Jonathan Drouin, who took a leave of absence from the team earlier this year. The Canadiens GM was happy to report that Drouin is ready to return for the 2021-22 season, and specifically noted the connection between the talented forward and head coach Dominique Ducharme, going back to their days in the QMJHL. Drouin has two years left on his contract with Montreal and carries a $5.5MM cap hit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Seattle Kraken Will Not Select Carey Price

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The Seattle Kraken will not select Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price at tonight’s expansion draft, according to several reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that the Canadiens are likely to lose young defenseman Cale Fleury.

Price, 33, waived his no-movement clause and was left unprotected by the Canadiens in order for the team to retain backup Jake Allen. He was an intriguing option, and many reports indicated that the Kraken did full due diligence on the veteran netminder before eventually deciding not to take him. With Price, there are just too many question marks and risks for an expansion franchise. Not only does he carry a $10.5MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season, but he’s owed an $11MM signing bonus for this season and could need major surgery in the coming weeks.

It’s not even just the cost an injury issues though, as Price has also been an inconsistent performer the last several seasons. With .909 and .901 save percentages the last two seasons, there’s no guarantee he can even help the Kraken to a playoff spot in their first year, an obvious target given some of the players that have already been linked to the team. Price has performed exceptionally well in the postseason once Montreal got there, but there is just too much risk involved in taking on that big of a contract when other goaltenders are available.

In Fleury, the Kraken would receive a 22-year-old defenseman who was once seen as a top prospect in the Montreal organization. He played 41 games with the team during the 2019-20 season, but hasn’t returned to the NHL since. In 22 games for the Laval Rocket, he recorded six points this season. That’s not to say his place as a future NHL defender is gone, but he’ll have to show improvements in Seattle to crack the lineup for 2021-22. No longer waiver-exempt, he’ll either have to make the roster or be available for the rest of the league at the end of training camp.

Poll: Where Will Carey Price Play In 2021-22?

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has had one of the most unique and hectic months for an individual player in recent memory.

After guiding the Canadiens to one of the more unexpected Stanley Cup Final appearances in recent memory, many justifiably assumed that Price’s future in Montreal was as secure as ever. It quickly turned out to be that wasn’t the case.

Price waived his no-movement clause for the purposes of the Seattle Expansion Draft and was left exposed when the protection lists were announced Sunday morning, an absolutely shocking move. Many assumed that Montreal had a side deal in place so that they could retain both Price and Jake Allen, but it soon became apparent that it wasn’t the path general manager Marc Bergevin had chosen.

Then came the injury news. Later yesterday, there were multiple reports of varying injuries that Price may miss significant time for. Reports from both Frank Seravalli and Pierre LeBrun stated that Price is dealing with problems in his hip and knee and will see a specialist this week. But with Seattle taking a long and hard look at Price’s current medical records, the injuries may not be enough to sway the Kraken away from taking Price.

However, it can’t be ignored that Price is coming off a pair of subpar regular seasons and is still under contract for five more seasons with a $10.5MM cap hit. It’s a hefty pill to swallow for the Kraken if Price can’t return to elite form, something that unfortunately seems like a possibility.

So, PHR readers, we ask you – where do you think Carey Price will play this season? Will Seattle salivate over the opportunity to pick up a potential elite franchise goalie? Or will his age and health concerns let him pass through unselected? Vote below:

Where will Carey Price play next season?
Montreal Canadiens 62.10% (2,335 votes)
Seattle Kraken 29.49% (1,109 votes)
Other 8.40% (316 votes)
Total Votes: 3,760

[Mobile users, click here to vote]

Carey Price Could Miss Time With Knee Injury

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UPDATE: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is now reporting that the injury is to Price’s knee while the hip will also be assessed. Price will consult doctors next week, and LeBrun states that the hope is that the injury isn’t serious.

The saga of Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price has taken a variety of unexpected twists and turns over the weekend. After being left exposed with his no-movement clause waived, his future with Montreal suddenly became extremely uncertain. Now, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Price may miss significant time next season with a hip injury.

It complicates what’s already a very uncertain goalie selection process for the Seattle Kraken. General manager Ron Francis has a bevy of options to choose from. It’s been widely reported that the Kraken have immense interest in Florida Panthers netminder Chris Driedger, so the question of who his partner in the crease will be remains. While many suggest Price due to his legendary status, this news about his health may sway them otherwise. It’s a similar situation with Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop, who was left exposed but didn’t play a single game this season due to injury. Other potential options include Braden Holtby and Kaapo Kahkonen, among others, but Seattle has a tough choice ahead of them.

For Montreal, this could be a decently sized blow to their success next season. It’s softened a bit with the guarantee that Jake Allen will be back with the team next season. But despite posting better regular-season numbers than Price, the team won more with Carey in the crease. With no specific guidelines on how much time Price will miss, it’s extremely hard to project how this news could affect both Montreal and Seattle. Still, it’s certainly a development that shifts both their plans.

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