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Carey Price joins the ranks of the NHL’s highest paid goalies. (Rich Lam/Getty Images)
The Montreal Canadiens locked up their most valuable player in Cary Price for the next six years on Monday. The contract will pay Price $39 million.
Price, 24, was Montreal’s first round (fifth overall) selection in the 2005 NHL entry draft. Over the past two seasons of being Montreal’s undisputed No. 1 goalie, Price has taken his place among the league’s elite.
He has become a workhorse in the Canadiens’ net, playing 137 regular season games in the last two seasons. Over his five-year career with Montreal, Price has a 2.56 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.
In an interview for the Canadiens’ website, Price said in a conference call from his home in British Columbia: “It’s an honour to be back. I got a vote of confidence from the organization.”
Marc Bergevin, Montreal’s new general manager, said in a Monday press conference: “Carey Price, for me, is one of the best young goalies in the league.
“I think if you have a young goalie with talent like his, you don’t take any chances. A goalie like him is hard to find. It’s a building block for success and making the playoffs.”
Montreal finished last in the Eastern Conference last year and has since hired Bergevin and a new head coach in Michel Therrien. Signing Price was felt as a must for Montreal in order to have stability and a known quantity.
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