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About yesterday afternoon ...
posted by Mike Boone at 9h20 EST on Jan 6
Price has started 19 games. Through the first half of the season, he
and Cristobal Huet split goaltending duties. Questioned about his
system of alternating goalies, Guy Carbonneau indicated that he would
have a number one by Christmas.
He did. And the numero uno's name is Cristobal Huet.
The second half of the season separates playoff contenders from pretenders. How many of these 41 crucial games will Carey Price start?
The Canadiens have no back-to-back games until Feb. 12. Until then, the pace is leisurely: games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, plus four days off at the All-Star break.
Unless Huet melts down, Carbo is going to be inclined to ride the hot hand of his experienced goaltender. Maybe the coach foresaw this situation during training camp when Carbo thought Price should start the season in Hamilton.
He was overruled by his general manager. Here's an educated guess as to Bob Gainey's reasoning:
Huet becomes a UFA at the end of this season. He's not interested in being a backup in Montreal. The Canadiens, with Price waiting in the wings, would not be interested in resigning Huet to the kind of contract he could get on the open market.
If Huet were to sign elsewhere, the Canadiens would start their centennial season with Jaroslav Halak and Price, who – having spent the season with the Bulldogs – would have no NHL experience.
It all makes sense. But now the team has a problem. Huet is clearly number one. What does the NHL experience of infrequent starts do for Price's development.
Prior to yesterday's game, Price had not played since Dec. 23 in Dallas. His performance yesterday strongly suggests the layoff was not beneficial.
I love Carey Price. He is the Canadiens' future.
In a nearly empty lockerroom yesterday, Price sat at his cubicle and, red-eyed and somber, patiently answered questions. He didn't make excuses.
Price has impeccable bloodlines. His father was a goaltending prospect whose career was derailed by injury. His mother is chief of a First Nations band council in B.C.
Carey Price is what my tribe calls a mensch. What concerns me is not his character but his evolution.
Will he become an NHL goaltender by watching Cristobal Huet for the next three months?
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I don't see Carbo riding Huet for the rest of the season. Huet, while an excellent goaltender, has never been able to play more than 42 games a year. He's prone to injury, therefore I believe Price will still get his fair share of starts. Huet is still #1 and should be, but he won't be a Luongo or Brodeur type of work horse down the stretch.
While we may lose Huet in the off-season, there's going to be plenty of experienced people to choose from to back-up Price. Denis is available, Grahame, etc... Not all-stars...but quality back-ups.
Denis' contract calls for $3 mil next year. Ouch! As for Grahame, I'd rather go with Halak or Danis. Either one would probably back up Price for about $600000 grand next year.
The Original 24 Cups
No question $ for $ Halak is a better fit. I was thinking more along the lines of someone who's been around and who's experience could also rub off on Price. There's no shortage of them around the league. And nevermind Danis, he's not even a 1st string AHL goalie. He keeps proving that when he has to carry a load.
Anyways, let's get through this season first. Alot can happen.
It boggles the mind that anyone would even in the slightest way suggest that Gainey is concerned with making himself "look good". It borders on absurdity to the limit.
Anyway,
Back in the fall, Carbo was asked what Carey Price might still need to experience after all his successes at the junior and AHL level. Carbo basically replied that Price needed to experience some humility. He wondered how Price would react to a "low".
Play him Tuesday night...and we will find out.
You're bang on Tommy. If Carbo is true to his word, I think we will see Price between the pipes on Tuesday.
I think Huet is great, but he should not be resigned for next season. I like thinking of the future with Price as #1, and Halak #1A. He may be only 21 but you can't keep him in Hamilton forever before he loses faith in a future with our beloved Habs and his development is thrown off track. And once his entry level contract expires, he can't be shuffled back and forth between the NHL and AHL.
As much as it would pain me to see Huet go, I could live with a Price/Halak tandem starting next season.
I've been saying it since before the season started... arey Prices promotion to the big show was premature, and Halak should have been the back-up this season. Not only did he prove himself all of last season, give the team a playoff shot, but he's also been more patient (and to me gained more experience) than price. Just yesterday i saw Halak play against the Marlies and I am still amazed at how poised he is when in the hot seat.
While I do agree Price is our future, I think it is time for him to get some more practice in the AHL and bring up Halak before we loose him to another team for nothing.
Mike, your last question is very valid. I would assume that Bob Gainey has probably drawn up three plans for the future of the goaltending of this team. They all depend on Cristobal Huet.
Plan A: They re-sign Huet for a limited amount of time and continue to use both goalies in order to get Price ready to be number 1.
That plan will most likely not occur because Huet will be able to get a very decent contract from another team for a longer term this summer.
Plan B: Trade Huet by the trade deadline.
I seriously doubt Gainey will do this. He didn't trade Souray last season and Huet is a much more valuable asset in the playoffs than Sheldon.
Plan C: Huet leaves and Price and Halak are your goalies.
I really think this is what will probably happen or in a variation, they bring in someone like Curtis Joseph for a year to continue to ease Price into the starting role. I don't think that would be a good idea, but it is an option.
If Huet doesn't resign, I would still be comfortable with Price and Halak as the goalies for this team. However, I would feel better if Price got more games in this season.
One thing that does come to mind is that perhaps Price will elevate his play when he knows he's the main man. He knows right now that just because he wins, he probably won't start the next game. If he is the number 1 next season, I really believe he will step up and assume that role very well.
Curtis Joseph? He's too busy winning the Spengler Cup!
The only people who would want BG to sign CuJo work for La Presse, Le Journal de Montreal, The Montreal Gazette, 110%, RDS, the Team 990, Sportsnight 360, CKAC...
I heard Toronto might be in the market for a new goalie, though...
Haha! I HATE the Steelers!
Lemme guess:
Cowboys fan?
Nope, I hate them also, most of all probably.
I'm a lifelong 49er fan, and don't rib me, I know they suck. Also been rooting for New England since they had Bledsoe, and Green Bay since my dad was a Packers fan.
Back off for saying your a Pat's fan :P. You never had a clue about them, lol
For a teacher ! Hate is a bad word, Dislike works for a sportsman!
Hahaha, wait a minute, so you're telling me I can't HATE the Laughs?
because I do...I also HATE the Flyers and Bruins.....
The leafs aren't worthy of your hate.
haha, pity more than anything right? (but I could care less about them to pity?)
Personally, I have disdain for the leafs.
Maybe we should start a 'Who Hates The leafs The Most Contest'
Send in your essays, 1,000 words or less.
I wonder if we'll get a essay from Pat Quinn?
Ummm....1,000 words or less for most of us.....10,000 words or more from krob1000
Hey, if the Canadiens can pony up a $1,000 prize, I'm all up for it.
Let them keep their money and use it sign a 6'4" UFA scoring center.
The Habs have the 4th highest goals for total in the NHL, behind only Detroit, Ottawa, and Carolina (Calgary has 3 more than us in 2 more games, so I count MTL as 4th), so goal support is shockingly not the issue.
There's still plenty of hockey to be played. This is a fun discussion, but one that can change on a week to week basis. We'll still likely want to play Price vs teams like Toronto and maybe even Ottawa or Pittsburgh. When we're on our West Coast road swing, we may want Price to play against some of the teams.
Price is on pace to play more than 30 games this year, largely thanks to the Huet injury earlier in the year. That's a lot of NHL games for a 20 year old, and 30 was the magic number I had in mind in October when he made the team that he should play in. Should we consider sending him down to Hamilton to get a few games in this month? Maybe, but then I say we bring him back up after only a handful of games.
The fact that a 20 year old isn't better than a goalie that made last year's All-Star game isn't a shocker. The fact that he isn't a serious downgrade is what's impressive.
As far as Huet goes, he's getting the Markov/Souray treatment. No contract talks until the season is fully evaluated. It'll be an interesting decision, that's for sure. I don't forsee a workable contract due to Price's large cap hit ($2.2m thanks to his potential bonuses), but I won't fully rule out the possibility of Huet staying.
So who looks better right now when it comes to handling Carey Price?
Bob or Carbo?
Personally, I was all for sending Price down to Hamilton at the beginning of the season simply because the philosophy has always been to give goaltending prospects plenty of time to develop and rushing them sometimes has disastrous consequences.
Agreed, but he's here now, and he should stay.
So far I think Gainey looks better. Price's stats are good, not bad. He had ONE bad game!
1 Bad game.
Bud i keep telling ya that Costco has a great deal on glasses right now.... Stop waiitng and go, lol
One really bad game, but a lot of questionable goals against. Just shows that he still has a lot to learn before we can really say that he's number one calibre.
I agree, he is only 20 ;)
That's why I'm confused why everyone wants to send him down.
So he's much better prepared for when Huet has left the team. Sitting on the bench for 90% of the rest of the season doesn't help him out. He's very fragile right now. Didn't you see how down after the Washington game he was? We can't say oh well Price needs to get a start after 10 games , then stick him in and he lets a bad goal in right away.
Price needs to play atleast 2 games a week minimum. With Huet playing more and more down the stretch, Price is getting more and more rusty on the bench.
I dunno, I seem to remember commentary earlier this season along the lines of "trade Huet, Carey Price is ready to be our number one!"
Thankfully, the Habs braintrust is paid to think over a period longer than 2 games. If the Team 990 or Rejean Tremblay were running the show, Price would be back playing for the Tri-City Americans...