The Price has been paid, let’s see if it pays off…
Hey Price, you try making 53 saves a night!
It had been a good summer in Montreal, the air is warm as I ride my bike from one event to the next. In Montreal there’s always something to do and people to see. No one really sleeps in the summer. Welcome to life in the city of “joie du vie” – city of festivals, free shows and fun. As the temperature starts to cool off though, there is something else in the air that most Montrealers are familiar with…
Yes, the season is starting soon. Can you feel the hockey in the air?
Not exactly in the figurative sense. You do start noticing that the sports section has slowly gotten thicker, the TSN twitter feed has doubled and the small talk from strangers has heated up:
Why the f#@k did the Montreal Canadiens keep Carey Price and not Jaroslav Halak?
When we last left the Montreal Canadiens, they were brought back to earth by the Philadephia Flyers in five games, ending possibly the playoff run for the ages. The heroics of Jaroslav Halak started the beginning of a legend in the making…
Then we traded him and kept the once was wonder-kid we call Carey Price.
This past week and a half, the signing of Carey Price to a short term deal and Jaroslav Halak’s great send off at a shopping mall in the West Island, helped end the goaltender soap opera in Montreal once and for all. The Habs were rich in goaltending, however there’s only room for one in the starting job.
And yes, we chose the “potential” in Price over the “heroics” of Halak.
In this day, anyone can be a hero but the team is looking for stability. This is common for goalies that play like hall famers for a short time and then make us forget who they are the following season. Who here remembers Jim Carey (the goalie, not the actor)? Patrick Lalime? Johan Hedberg? Tim Thomas was the same last year for the Boston Bruins, now he’s easy trade bait.
Who knows with Halak, his constant play has been based on coaches never really giving him the #1 job, he now has it and now really has to live up to it. You’re thinking… wait, isn’t that what we should say about Price?
I’m not done here, he’s not off the hook so quick.
The Halak trade also made sense economically. The Canadiens don’t have much room on the payroll, if he becomes who we have seen in the playoffs, the next time we have to resign him, he could cost us an arm and a leg. Maybe it’s best to not have greatness under a line of barely making the playoffs and the scrutiny of the media and unsympathetic fans.
I mean, to do this night after night he deserves more than the starting job.
Early on I liked Carey Price, he had the mind and finesse of a good goalie in the making, however being from a small town (Williams Lake BC), the young boy couldn’t really be a man in the big city and well, beer and girls became his weakness.
Most can relate as the party lifestyle is one of the reasons why Montreal is not the powerhouse it could be. We could have been thriving by now if it weren’t for beers in depanneurs and good looking people.
As Price faltered because of his naivety, Halak went under the radar and lucked out, winning the starting job without being the target of media or fan scrutiny.
In due fairness, whenever a goalie (or any player) falters, fans and media always threaten to want them traded. Patrick Roy early in his career was the subject of many trade threats, some saw him as a one trick pony until the 1987 playoff series. We’ve done this to Dryden, Worsley, Plante, everyone. Price continues the tradition of being the goat until he proves himself.
And we’ve seen some greatness. He was the hero in 2008, where Halak is now. Remember World juniors 2007, remember Calder Cup? We all thought he would be the next Patrick Roy. Remember, Patrick Roy also had some subpar seasons and was questioned accordingly. Remember that he’s a 23 year old with the hardest job that any 23 year will ever have.
Remember being 23 and doing a lot of stupid things like partying and girls?
Not that many 23 year olds get compared to legends, don’t do that to Price, his job is hard enough. He needs to create his own identity, the way Halak did it. He’s aware that no one likes him, but remember: he’s all we got now. Take it or leave it. Let him grow into his form, maybe he can be better than Halak.
Also, would you want to put the fate of goaltending for the Montreal Canadiens in the hands of Alex Auld? Think about it, Alex Auld: second rate backup from the Toronto Maple Leafs? I endured the lean years when Jocelyn Thibault was thrust into the lime light, then Jeff Hackett took over. I am not going to go through that again.
I would give him the chance to live up to the thoroughbred status he was given before we assume he has gone to stud. It’s Montreal, we might be full of joie and seem like fun party going people but when it comes to hockey, especially when we used to have the Stanley Cup parades almost every year, we’re not kind people.
Let’s see if the Price was right on the kid.
