MONTREAL, QC — The numbers started leaking out just after 3 p.m. local time this afternoon. Was it $5.25 million? Further updates revealed a two year deal totalling $5.5 million.
While some struggled with long division, capologists quickly informed us that the hit was $2.75 million a year. The Canadiens will start the season with 22 players under contract and a shade less than $1.4 million remaining in the coffers, a razor thin margin in the cap world. There will be injury call-ups to pay for leaving little or nothing to spend by the trade deadline.
But there was only one number that was on Carey Price’s mind.
82
That was his succinct answer when asked about the number of games that he would like to start this season.
After a follow-up question, Price went on to say that “I’d like to play a lot but that’s going to be up to Jacques in the end. I feel ready to play a lot of games and I’m going to have to earn them all.”
During the teleconference, Price was relaxed and clearly focused on preparing himself for the upcoming season.
Price has been training with former Senators goaltending coach, Eli Wilson, in Kelowna this summer. This week, he was joined by Canadiens goaltending coach Pierre Groulx. They were scheduled to hit the ice in the home of the Rockets following the teleconference.
Price has also spent time working out with Josh Gorges and Travis Moen. Regarding his conditioning, he said “I feel really good. I’ve been working out here in Kelowna and I didn’t take a whole lot of time off.”
Relaxed is not a word that can be used to describe the hockey atmosphere in Montreal this summer. By contrast, the mainstream media has been doing their best to work fans into a tizzy with manufactured reports of trade rumours, holdouts and Price wanting out of the city. Michel Godbout was conspicuously absent today. JT from 25Stanley.com told me Godbout was on strike.
What have I been telling you all summer? As recently as this weekend, I was on the Team 990 reassuring fans that the deal would get done before Labour Day. It did.
On the timing, Price said, “I knew that it was going to happen eventually. I wanted it to happen before camp. It did take a bit longer than expected but I knew it was going to happen.”
But why did it take so long pressed one reporter?
Price’s answer was simple and logical saying “It was just two sides doing their jobs.”
I’ve been preaching patience all summer. On August 5, I published a piece titled “Let’s be Calm About the Carey Price Negotiations for now.” Here’s what I wrote regarding the final agreement:
“So where will the parties end up?
A three-year deal in the neighbourhood of $8 million ($2.5M, 2.5, 3.0) is my best guess and may be reasonable middle ground for both parties. But we will have to wait to see how tightly each side will hold to their positions. It seems that fans are ready to celebrate any deal that is a partial win for both sides.
Do I remain calm and confident that a deal will be done? Yes, I do. But if we are still talking about this issue beyond Labour Day, feel free to push the panic button.”
As it turns out, my educated guess was remarkably close to the final numbers with Price getting $2.5 million in the first year of the contract and $3.0 million in the final year.
Contrast that with Tony Marinaro who has been claiming that the Price camp was being stubborn about wanting a five-year deal and it turned into a major sticking point. Toss in that speculation about Price trying to force a trade, Gauthier shopping him around the league and you have fill for the airwaves over the past two months.
So how can the owner of a Habs digital magazine and a big-time Montreal radio host be at such polar opposites?
It’s simple really. One person looked at things like statistics, comparables, cap space, age, potential, etc. and spoke to contacts to arrive at his conclusion. The other guy just sat behind a microphone every morning and made stuff up.
My numbers were dead-on but I had included an additional year as a saw-off point. I was aware (though it seems some were not) that Price’s agent Gerry Johannsson was seeking a short-term deal. Rather than working towards the middle, Price said that the Canadiens moved quite early in the process to agree to a two-year term.
“We wound up agreeing on two years,” said Price. “Both sides felt it was an appropriate length. It was an issue that was cleared up right away.”
In the end this is a good deal for both the Canadiens and Price.
“We are extremely happy that Carey has agreed to pursue his career with the Canadiens,” said Pierre Gauthier in a statement. “Carey is a key member of our Club. He has proven that he has what it takes to be a good goaltender in the league, and we are confident he will perform to the best of his abilities for years to come in a Canadiens uniform.”
Price will be returning to Montreal on September 10 ahead of the team golf tournament on September 16 and the opening of training camp the following day. The start of the season is just five weeks away.
There will be pressure from fans for the team to perform right away but the only expectations Price has are the ones he has placed on himself. “For me personally, I know that I have to play better. We’re all going to have to play well to win.”
The young goaltender seems to have a good perspective on the city that is not always objective in choosing their hockey idols. “It’s been hard and it’s been awesome,” said Price.
That’s about right.
(photo credit: Getty)