Still struggling with his recurring knee injury, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price may have to be sidelined for the entire 2022-2023 season, general manager Kent Hughes said Thursday.
See Kent Hughes’ full press briefing in the video above.
The 35-year-old veteran’s condition is anything but encouraging, according to Hughes, who was meeting with the media via video conference after acquiring forward Sean Monahan. He wouldn’t expect to see Price at the start of the season and at least for the first few months of the campaign.
“I’ve mentioned before that we’re in a gray area with Carey as to whether or not he’ll play and unfortunately that wasn’t something we could determine. [à l’époque]. We had to let time do things. But at this point, the news about Carey’s knee is pretty disheartening, in the sense that there hasn’t really been any improvement during the rehabilitation process,” Hughes said.
“During the off-season, he also received injections in his knee, but that didn’t help,” added the GM. We don’t expect Carey to be ready at the start of the season and quite frankly, I don’t know if there is a path that would allow Carey to come back this season.”
The British Columbian’s name would also be placed on the long-term injured list by the start of the season. This operation would save the Canadian $10.5 million on the mace, and thus free up enough space for Monahan’s $6.375 million salary.
Career over?
Price missed most of last season due to injuries and personal reasons, making a short five-game stint in April. He went 1-4 with a 3.63 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.
His most recent stint in the blue-white-red uniform came in the final game of 2021-22, in a 10-2 winning effort against the Florida Panthers.
This new long-term absence does not bode well for the continuation of the career of the most prolific goalkeeper in the history of CH in the regular season. Hughes couldn’t say too much just yet.
“We will have more information when Carey passes his physical tests in training camp. At that time, we will hold another conference with Carey, myself and probably the team doctors,” he said.
A former recipient of the Hart, Vézina and Ted-Lindsay trophies, Price received the Bill-Masterton at the end of the campaign for his qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.