Carey Price Update
What’s Happening: Right before the 2021-2022 season began, Carey Price voluntarily enrolled himself into the NHL’s Player Assistance program. This program was created to ensure players have the resources available to them to try and combat whatever issues they are dealing with related to substance abuse and/or mental health issues.
Earlier this week, Price put out a statement on Instagram revealing that he had also enrolled in a residential treatment facility for substance abuse. In his statement, he revealed his vulnerabilities and that he likely needed more time to work through what he is facing. Needless to say, Price has the full support of teammates and from the entire hockey community. Canadiens head coach Dominic Ducharme put it best when he said, "That's the first thing, individually, is to get help and you need to have the courage to admit that you need it.”
What this means for the Habs: Anytime you lose an all-star number one goalie, it’s going to have a big impact on any hockey club and no club is feeling that more than the Montreal Canadiens. While the Canadiens are fortunate enough to have a backup who has had starting goaltending experience in Jake Allen, at this point in his career, Allen is more suited for a backup role.
After a season in which the Habs made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final on the back of solid goaltending from Price, the Habs are off to a miserable start of 3-10-1 and have been booed off the ice multiple times at home. It’s clear that the Canadiens are sorely missing Price’s calm netminding but also are missing his leadership and experience in the locker room. The Habs have shown no clear signs of turning things around yet and with Price out for a little while longer, it may almost be a lost season for a team that had such high hopes.
What this means for Price: First things first, Carey Price needs to take as much time as he needs to get himself right once again. Hockey absolutely should come second in his list of priorities. That being said, Price is a 34-year old netminder who’s time as a goaltender and NHL player doesn’t get any better with age. Goalies that are his age will need more time and practice to get back into form and be mentally sharp to face NHL snipers.
On top of this, it’s an Olympic year and Price is likely going to miss it. With Team Canada at a loss for good, quality goaltending, it’s almost likely Price would have made the team based on his resume. As we mentioned already, all of this should play a secondary role in his life as he finds himself back on the road to recovery.
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