Carey Price

Carey Price's stick says Warrior on the paddle. But it's a friendly Warrior, as goalie coach Pierre Groulx investigates at Thursday practice.
Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette

Through all the ups and downs, the manufactured controversies, even the alleged experts weighing in with their suggestions to throw him under the wheels of the métro, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price hasn't lost his sense of humour.

Exhibit A: his bearhug of defenceman Andrei Markov, with whom he's said to be feuding.

Exhibit B: his goalie stick, as pictured here.

The Canadiens return to practice in Brossard this morning, then board a bus that will take them down Highway 417 to Ottawa, where in Kanata tomorrow at 2 pm they'll hope to end their two-game losing streak when they face the Ottawa Senators – need we remind you the Sens have won eight in a row, after last night's 4-1 victory over the Penguins in Pittsburgh?

Pat Hickey will be at practice. He'll file an update of news, and we'll post audio after practice.

Nice gesture by Canadiens defenceman Roman Hamrlik last night to come to goalie Carey Price's defence. But clearly, Price wanted human steamroller Cam Janssen all for himself.

At Robert Lefebvre's Eyes on the Prize website, here are Chris Boyle's remarkable Carey Price/Jaroslav Halak goaltending statistics for the month of December.

A work of art by Boyle, and props to Lefebvre for featuring it on his page.

Carey Price's Centennial Game mask (left) and the Remembrance Day model, both of which have sold at auction.
Allen McInnis, Gazette

Two worn-once Carey Price masks with unique paint schemes have sold at auction for a combined $27,650.

The Canadiens goalie and his mask designer, David Arrigo, developed special motifs for the mask he wore Nov. 12 in Phoenix to commemorate Remembrance Day and Dec. 4 for the Canadiens' Centennial Game against Boston. The Remembrance Day mask attracted 10 bids and a highest of $7,100, while the Centennial Game model drew 77 bids, its highest at $20,550.

Follow the links above to see each listing at auctions.nhl.com, where you'll find a closer look at each and the worthwhile charities they will support. Congratulations and well done to the buyers, who also will meet Price at an upcoming game as part of their purchase.

Two masks worn one time each this season by Canadiens goaltender Carey Price are on the auction block as of tonight, and through Dec. 31, to benefit two very good causes.

Price's game-worn Centennial Game mask, worn Dec. 4 against the Boston Bruins and featuring likenesses of six Canadiens goaltending greats, will be sold to benefit the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation.

The other mask, worn around Remembrance Day, features war-time images of Canada's service personnel through the years It will benefit Wounded Warriors, an organization giving assistance to Canadian soldiers wounded overseas.

Both masks will include two tickets for a Canadiens game and a meet and greet with Price.

Find both and do your bidding here. And read below for more information and to see both masks, photographed by The Gazette's Allen McInnis.

Continue reading "Two Price masks on the auction block" »

The second monthly beyond incredible statistical look at Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, as broken down in exhaustive detail by Chris Boyle and featured at Robert Lefebvre's Eyes on the Prize website.

The mask Carey Price will wear Friday for the Canadiens' Centennial Game at the Bell Centre.
Courtesy David Arrigo

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has worn a number of different masks this season, a selection of them to be auctioned off for charity fundraising. They've all been the graphic work of Toronto sports artist and mask creator David Arrigo, whose work can be seen in detail here.

Friday night, for the Canadiens' long-awaited Centennial Game, coming on the 100th anniversary of the club's founding, Price will wear something special – a mask featuring the likenesses of six of the club's Hall of Fame netminders, as well as a listing of the 24 seasons in which the Habs have won the Stanley Cup. We're happy to give you an exclusive first look at the mask here.

On the left side you'll see, from top down, Georges Vézina, Patrick Roy and George Hainsworth. On the right: Bill Durnan, Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante. Also appearing are the various logos that have appeared on the Canadiens sweater through the decades and a face-circling blue border very reminiscent of Dryden's "target" mask. On the chin is the stylized C that appears on the jersey the Canadiens wore in 1909-10, their first season, and on the back of the helmet are the Cup-winning years, along with mention of the Carson Kolzig Foundation, a cause close to Price's heart.

Look below for a closer look at the mask, for which creator Arrigo thanks Carl Lavigne, the Canadiens' manager of history and archives, for his help in realizing the project.

Continue reading "Exclusive: Price's Centennial Game mask" »

L'Actualité magazine offers this scenic photo tour of Anahim Lake, B.C., 15 images of the hometown of Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

What would Allan Walsh have tweeted during the Montreal/Phoenix game?

 

 

Habs win 9th game of season when Client Jaroslav Halak wears his lucky Batman underwear… interesting…

…

Interesting stat… 100% of Price’s wins have come when the Habs score goals…hmmm

…

Teams have book on Price – miss the net and deflect puck off skate. Look for it – teams will keep taking advantage.

Continue reading "More Twitter Controversy" »

Canadiens goalie Carey Price has had a special Remembrance Day mask made to commemorate the efforts of Canada's soldiers, past and present. He wore it in warmup last night and will take it to Phoenix for tomorrow's game.

The mask features a likeness of a wreath-laying soldier on one side, a bagpiper on the other and the words to John McCrae's World War I poem In Flanders Fields, part of which is the Canadiens' unofficial "From failing hands..." motto, in both of Canada's official languages. Also featured are poppies and a yellow ribbon of support for our country's troops. The words Lest We Forget/N'Oublions Pas frame the ribbon.

Price's special mask eventually will be auctioned to benefit the Canadian Forces' charitable work with its members and their families.

Illustrations of the mask, before the cage was attached, appear below. They are courtesy of its Toronto-based sports designer and painter, David Arrigo.

Continue reading "Carey Price's Remembrance Day mask" »

Robert Lefebvre has a goalie-stat devotee named Chris Boyle (there's got to be a stronger word than "devotee" for Boyle's work) who charts way more than save percentage and goals-against averages. Check Robert's Eyes on the Prize site here for an exhaustive look at October's goaltending performances of Canadiens' Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. And be very amazed.

Goalie Jaroslav Halak puts his weight into a slapshot at the end of the hardest-shot contest during today's Metro Family Practice. Eggs were not worried – Halak shot 63 and 73 mph.
John Mahoney, Gazette

• Stubbs column on the subject

Allan Walsh, agent for Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak, knowingly or otherwise smacked a hornet's nest on Twitter last night immediately following the Habs' 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay with his tweet: "Interesting stat of the night.... #Habs' Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm."

Whether an agent should so publicly be promoting a client at the expense of someone else – that would be Carey Price – even between the lines is subject to debate. The Internet has changed all the rules (some would say significantly lowered the bar) of credibility, professionalism and even common sense.

But the tweet riled former goalie Kelly Hrudey on Hockey Night in Canada, and a quick, very brief flurry of tweets between Walsh and HNIC's Jeff Marek ensued. Walsh replied to Marek: "It was a tongue in cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously, forgot it was Montreal and everyone loses a sense of humor."

Search #walsha on Twitter and you'll see that many people climbed aboard this one. Nice capsule here on the All Habs blog. You'll find Walsh on Twitter here, where his end of the exchange was recorded before he deleted it this morning.

Carey “The Franchise” Price will get his first start in almost two weeks. After a great beginning to the regular season in Toronto (0.940 SP) and then Buffalo (0.970 SP), Price was left out to dry by his teammates in Vancouver, where he was shelled for 7 goals (0.781 SP). The 22 year-old netminder then lost his next 3 starts.

The goalie controversy then took off as Jaroslav “I’m no backup” Halak won 4 in a row for the desperate Habs.

 

With Halak getting pulled after 4 goals and 2 periods in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, Jacques Martin decided that it was time for Price to get a start. There was a lot of rumbling by some fans and pundits on Monday when the hot Slovak got the call in net against the Islanders. Price, they said, needed to get back into it after such a long time on the bench. And who better to play against to get your shaken confidence back than the lowly Islanders?

Well, the mighty Chicago Blackhawks for one.

Continue reading "Something to Prove" »

A side view of the new mask Carey Price will wear into action Thursday and for most games this season.
Copyright image courtesy David Arrigo

Carey Price's cowboy on horseback has been stabled – the Canadiens goaltender will debut his new 2009-10 mask tonight in the Habs' home opener vs. Colorado, a lid featured here in photographs exclusive to habinsideout.com.

On both sides, it features a Grim Reaper riding a chopper, with six aces of spades appearing on the sides, the CH logo on the forehead and, on the chin, skulls and the stylized, half-mirrored name PRICE.

On the back is reference to the Carson Kolzig Foundation, a fundraising initiative of Price's good friend Olaf Kolzig, the recently retired goaltender who works tirelessly to improve the lives of the autistic. Kolzig's son, Carson, is affected by the neural development disorder.

Continue reading "HIO exclusive: Grim Reaper in for Price" »

A quick heads-up, especially to the goaltending junkies who live for this stuff: Carey Price will debut his 2009-10 mask in tomorrow's home opener vs. Colorado, and rest assured the horseback cowboy is nowhere to be seen. It's not the Centennial tribute mask that we've posted here previously – Price will wear that on a special occasion or two this season – but something much edgier than anything he's used in the past. Plenty of photos, exclusive to us, and some background on its design coming to this space later tonight.

In a very special way, Carey Price's new mask celebrates the Canadiens' centennial – in fact, the Habs only turn 100 on Dec. 4.

It features paintings of some celebrated Canadiens numbers on the left and right and magnificent likenesses of Hall of Famers Gump Worsley on the left and Ken Dryden on the right.

The problem is, it wasn't supposed to be Ken Dryden. It was supposed to be Jacques Plante.

I had a fun chat with Toronto-based designer, artist and painter David Arrigo this evening about the mixup; he feels terrible about it all, an honest mistake having created a truly one-of-a-kind mask. But mistake and all, Price loves it and will wear it before it is sold at some point down the road for charity.

The story is here, and below are five photos of the mask courtesy of Arrigo. Check out his website here for more of his work.

(Price is back in red Vaughn Velocity pads this season, by the way, saying, "I look as big in red as in white." No time for superstitition, he says.)

Continue reading "Photos: Carey Price's new mask" »

Pat Hickey writes that if Canadiens goalie Carey Price is pegged No. 1 for the season ahead, it should be only because he's earned the job in training camp, and not by simple anointment. And Hickey visits with blueline prospect Mac Bennett, who's delighted to have the opportunity to show his stuff this week at the team's rookie camp.

TSN caught up with Carey Price in Calgary as the Canadiens goaltender took part in a hocke camp in the city. In the interview, Price talks about his struggles last season and his approach moving forward, saying he has never backed down from a challenge and that he won't start now, referring to the demands of Montreal fans.

Also in the clip is new Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin, who flew out to Calgary to watch his goaltender in action and establish a relationship. Good sign there.

 

Don't include Gazette hockey writer Red Fisher among those who believe fans acted unreasonably by heckling Canadiens goalie Carey Price during Game 4 of the Habs-Bruins series.

"It's true Price didn't get a lot of help from his teammates, but for the second year in a row he faltered when it mattered the most," Fisher writes today.

"Those people in the Bell Centre crowd who mocked Price were unhappy. They were disappointed - and showed it in the only way crowds everywhere do. Price was unhappy with it and reacted to it in the worst way possible."

This is just thinking aloud, nothing more:

Carey Price was on Bell Centre morning-skate ice fve minutes before Jaro Halak. Price has taken the net at the end the Canadiens will defend for two periods, which more often than not is where the night's starting goaltender warms up.

All of which might be one more way the Canadiens will attempt to throw journalists, and the spying Bruins, off for just a while longer.

Confirmation expected to come from Bob Gainey by noon.

In other roster news, former trainer Eddy Palchak is behind the Canadiens bench, so look for a shakeup there. (Eddy's there, but just kidding on the other part.)

The first two playoff games down in Boston have been humbling affairs for our Montreal Canadiens. They were soundly out-muscled and clearly out-played. The Bruins played well in Game 1 and they played damn well in Game 2. The Habs played decently in Game 1 and piss-poor on Saturday. Game 3 will truly show what these 2008-2009 Montreal Canadiens are made of.
We’re down 2-0. We were given a good spanking on Saturday. And now, at home, we can prove that we deserve to still be competing.
We need to redeem ourselves. We need to claw back into this series. We need to take advantage of a Lucic-less Boston team.
Continue reading "From Milan to Montreal" »

2007/08 Alex Kovalev GP82 G35 A49 P84; +18 2008/09 Alex Kovalev GP78 G29 A39 P65; -4
2007/08 Tomas Plekanec G81 G29 A40 P69; +15 2008/09 Tomas Plekanec G80 G20 A19 P39; -9
2007/08 CH Mark Streit GP81 G13 A49 P62; -6 2008/09 NYI Mark Streit GP74 G16 A40 P56; +6
2007/08 Andrei Markov GP82 G16 A42 P58; +1 2008/09 Andrei Markov GP78 G12 A52 P68; -2
2007/08 Saku Koivu GP77 G16 A40 P56; -4 2008/09 Saku Koivu GP65 G16 A34 P50; +4
...

At this point last season, the high flying Habs were, well, flying high. Les Glorieux were surging into the playoffs full of confidence - first in the Eastern Conference; a dominant powerplay; a strong mix of veterans and youth; and a high-powered offense led by the top line of Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn.
A year later the Habs are plummeting into the playoffs, wings clipped, expectations broken and instead of hope, question marks and uncertainty loom on the horizon.
Continue reading "What a Difference a Year Makes" »

Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak makes a stop on Islanders' Frans Nielsen last night on Long Island.
Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Look for Jaroslav Halak to get his second consecutive start in goal tomorrow night in Toronto, the still-ailing Carey Price not fit to face the Maple Leafs. Pat Hickey says that Price has been for all intents and purposes quarantined in his Toronto hotel room (so presumably roommate Josh Gorges was upgraded to a single?).

Andrei Kostitsyn seems highly doubtful to play tomorrow, having been cut over the eye by a high stick last night on Long Island. But there are suggestions, too, that he could be a healthy scratch. Last time the Kostitsyn brothers' parents come to North America: Sergei was drilled into the boards and missed last night's game, and now Andrei is hammered.

Goaltending callup Marc Denis was returned to Hamilton to play with the Bulldogs tonight, but will be back to support Halak tomorrow in Toronto.

The Canadiens did not practice today, but instead had a team meeting at the Ricoh Centre.

Pat Hickey checks in from Long Island to report that there's doubt whether goaltender Carey Price will play tonight as scheduled against the New York Islanders.

Price didn't take part in the morning skate, remaining at the team's hotel with what appears to be the flu.

Watch for the Canadiens to recall Marc Denis from Hamilton later in the day as a backup to probable starter Jaroslav Halak, who hasn't played since suffering a 5-2 loss against Toronto on March 21.

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau has decided to start Carey Price against the Dallas Stars on Sunday night, his third straight start.

Price lost his last two starts, but put in a good effort against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night, but his teammates generated no offence in a 2-0 loss.

Jaroslav Halak, who has won his last four starts, will watch from the bench despite being fully recovered from a battle with the flu.

... Carey Price is great in Buffalo?

Assuming Jaro Halk has recovered, who starts Friday night in Atlanta?

I say Price.

(Unless, of course, the Canadiens wild and crazy general manager deals The Franchise in a blockbuster deal tomorrow).

On CKAC this afternoon, Martin McGuire reported Price has been working very hard in practice. He's the first one on the ice with the injured guys and often the last to leave.

Implicit in McGuire's praise is the notion that Price's work habits have not always been exemplary.

If the kid has the kind of pride I think he does, Price will be great against the Sabres.

•  •  •

Factoring in Robert Lang's injury and various shuffles to and from Hamilton, McGuire calculates the Canadiens have $3.7 million worth of wiggle room on an acquisition tomorrow.

To that you can add the salary of a player or players going the other way.

Mathieu Dandenault's $1.7. for example, would bring the ceiling value of an acquired player up to $5.4 million.

Ron Fournier, on the same broadcast, said the Canadiens might be interested in Michael Nylander, whose salary – $4.875 million against the cap, this season and next – Washington might want to shed in order to make another move.

Carey Price is on Brossard ice breaking in his new WHITE pads. They look a lot like his old white pads, except for the CH logo above the knee, exactly where it appeared on his unmourned red ones.

And no, we don't know what he's eventually going to do with the old pads, red or white...

Carey Price with his Vaughn equipment rep Jorg Achenbach last March with the new white pads Price soon would be wearing.
Gazette photo

Carey Price, one of the least superstitious goaltenders you'll find, has dumped his month-old red pads and is returning to the white ones in which he enjoyed considerably more success.

The new pads, which will feature the CH logo above the knee as it appears on the red pair, are shipping today from the Vaughn factory in London, Ont.

We profiled Price's graphically redesigned white pads last March in The Gazette; that story appears below. From it:

It's not a lack of imagination that colours his pads white, save the trim. It's all about deceiving shooters, who might have trouble distinguishing pads from ice and boards, and with the optical illusion of making himself look huge.

Continue reading "Price dumps red pads, back in white" »

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price made the morning truly unforgettable for a group of nearly 1,000 First Nations children and adults today, putting aside his personal disappointment to share with them a message of keeping your head up and doing your best in life.

Helping to organize the remarkable day were Gino Odjick, a former Canadien and influential First Nations figure, and Lynda Price, the goalie's mother and chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation in Anahim Lake, B.C., where Price was born.

Continue reading "Price inspires 1,000 First Nations fans" »

Invest some time with this fine piece by Elliotte Friedman of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, who looks at Carey Price through the eyes of a few people who know their stuff.