Montreal Canadiens rumors: Carey Price on the trade block?
According to Elliotte Friedman, Carey Price’s time with the Montreal Canadiens might be over way sooner than we think.
The Montreal Canadiens are in the midst of a nightmare season. Perhaps one bad enough to finally wake up general manager Marc Bergevin. It might well convince him a rebuild is necessary. Should it come to that, one of their top trade chips could be franchise goaltender Carey Price.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the 2014-15 Vezina Trophy winner would likely welcome a trade out of Montreal.
(transcription via FanRag Sports)
"“If you told me that Carey Price told the Montreal Canadiens he wants out of there, I would believe it 100 percent. If he is getting traded, I’m not sure it’s a hockey reason. I think it’s an ‘I’m sick of this B.S.’ reason.”"
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Earlier in November, Price’s wife had to address rumors of a divorce on Instagram. Athletes are public figures and rarely have private lives. But it would be perfectly understandable if these rumors made Price frustrated enough to draw a line in the sand.
The pressure has been on the goaltender to carry the Canadiens. And until very recently, Price was up to the task. However, there’s been tension between the goaltender and the team. At the very least, the two seem to be at odds.
A lot of the tension stems from Price’s injury in 2015. It was thought to be relatively minor, but he reaggravated it and wound up missing the entire season. The Canadiens completely mishandled the situation.
If Price wants out of Montreal, the Canadiens would love to do it sooner rather than later. First of all, his brand new extension kicks in next season. And with that extension comes a no-movement clause and a $10.5 million cap hit annually.
Price holds all the leverage in this situation because of his no-movement clause. This season, he was supposed to have a modified no-trade clause, but the extension caused the upgrade. Price’s trade value has to be low at this point because he hasn’t been an all-world goalie since that 2015 injury.
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This would be yet another black mark on the history of the Canadiens, who have been steadily falling off a cliff since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993. Patrick Roy’s exit from Montreal was about as ugly as it gets. But if Price leaves, it might be an even darker day in the long history of the Canadiens. And it might well mean the beginning of the end for Bergevin.