Written by Habsterix, AllHabs.net
There are times in life when karma finds a way to throw things back in our face and with age and wisdom, we as human beings are hoping to have learned from our previous experiences and avoid those embarrassing situations.
PENTICTON, BC. — Not that long ago, Bob Gainey and Trevor Timmins shocked the hockey world by selecting, with the fifth pick overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, a young goaltender from the Western Hockey League by the name of Carey Price. Seeing that Gainey had just given fan favourite Jose Theodore a shiny new contract, self-proclaimed experts were puzzled by the pick when Gilbert Brule was available, a guy who filled the needs of a Habs’ team struggling up front.
A gold medal around his neck, named the best goaltender and the Most Valuable Player at the World Junior Championship, Price was also awarded the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL goaltender of the year as well as the CHL’s goaltender of the year. But wait, he wasn’t done yet. He joined the Hamilton Bulldogs and led them to the Calder Cup, receiving the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Calder Cup playoffs MVP, making him the youngest player ever to receive the award.
Then started the criticism… He made the team the next season and started as Cristobal Huet’s backup, and did well every time he was called upon. When Huet struggled, Price took over as the starter and many felt like it was too soon. Out came the stories, the gossips of his night life. Rumoroids (those who feed rumours to desperate fans) quite enjoyed feeding “scoops” and soon enough, traditional media hopped on the bandwagon.
When Price lost his starter role to Jaroslav Halak in the 2009-10 season, a majority of fans wanted to see him out of town. Most were blaming Gainey for his favouritism towards the one they sarcastically called “le joyau” (the jewel) and when Gainey stepped down as GM, and seeing the success Halak had in the following playoffs, fans had hope that Price would be gone.
Gauthier surprised most everyone when he traded Halak to the St-Louis Blues in exchange for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, therefore making Price the undisputed starter in Montreal. The outrage was everywhere at the time and when Price had a rough start to the exhibition season, fans at the Bell Centre started booing him, forcing the young goaltender to tell them to “chill out.” How dare he tell fans what they could or could not do?
Looking at his statistics, and at what he has meant for this franchise in the last two seasons, everyone is now cheering Price. While some still refuse to admit it, Gauthier made the right choice.
And to those who panicked and doubted Price, it’s time to cowboy-up!
En français: Carey Price: les sceptiques seront confondus