Insider believes Price may be in his last season with the Montreal Canadiens
Goaltender Carey Price has been the face of the Montreal Canadiens for a decade now. When Price plays well, the team follows and vice versa. But, with the Habs' season in turmoil and the decision to clean out the front office, one Insider believes that if Price is going to be shipped out of Montreal, now would be the optimal time.
"Well if you're gonna talk about Shea Weber then let's talk about Carey Price," said Lebrun this week on Insider Trading. "Bigger picture, longer term, what about his future with the Montreal Canadiens? There's a new person running the Montreal Canadiens in Jeff Gorton. Carey Price was very tight with Marc Bergevin everyone knows that. He's 34 years old, where does a 34 year old future Hall of Famer fit in the plan of a rebuild if that is what Jeff Gorton plans to do?"
LeBrun also believes that if Price hits the market, there will be interest.
"There are teams around the league, some contenders, I can tell you already that are intrigued to find out where that all goes," said LeBrun.
The biggest drawback to trading Price is, of course, the contract. The 34-year-old has four seasons left after this one on his current deal with an annual cap hit of $10.5 million. He also has a full no-move clause. However, he was willing to waive that during the Seattle expansion draft and there was by no means any guarantee that the Kraken wouldn't pull the trigger.
While neither Gorton nor Habs owner Geoff Molson have said a full rebuild is coming, both have stated clearly that it is an option and something they aren't afraid to do. If that is the route management decides to take, shipping out the face of the franchise is a no brainer. Price's play could severely limit the team's chances of finishing at the bottom of the league and getting a premium draft pick in the lottery.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||