Hughes: 'If we had a fully healthy Carey Price...'
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Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes admits that having a healthy Carey Price would change the team's outlook moving forward.
Price's playing future is in doubt after the team placed him on long-term injured reserve this off-season due to ongoing knee issues. Hughes told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic that having the six-time All-Star between the pipes would have shifted the ongoing retool of the team's roster.
“I think so,” Hughes said. “If we had a fully healthy Carey Price …”
“Those who have had that type of goalie, generally speaking, when they leave there’s a void, Obviously the Rangers are not one of those [going from Henrik Lundqvist to Igor Shesterkin].
“If we have that internally or if we were able to find that, it would be unbelievable, but certainly it’s the hardest position to find somebody you can rely on consistently from year to year — having one of them can have a huge impact.”
The Canadiens are set to move forward with Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault in net to start the season. That duo saw the majority of playing time last season, when Price was limited to just five starts.
Major Changes in Montreal
Montreal made significant changes to its roster this off-season, dealing Jeff Petry, Ryan Poehling, Alexander Romanov and injured former captain Shea Weber and bringing in Kirby Dach, Sean Monahan, Michael Matheson and Evgeni Dadonov as part of their trade returns.
Hughes admitted the off-season may have looked different if Price was ready to backstop the Canadiens.
“Carey is a world-class goalie who brings a dimension in terms of the competitiveness of our team,” Hughes said. “And I guess also, vis a vis Carey, do we owe it to him if we really were in a position to do something?”
After reaching the Stanley Cup Final with Price in net in 2021, the Canadiens finished 32nd in the standings last season, two points worse than the Arizona Coyotes.