MONTREAL – It was April 4, 2018 and Carrie Price had just finished her 557th start to overtake Jacques Plant for number one on the Montreal Canadiens list of all time. He quietly packed his gear before holding the media court from the booth in his locker room.
I saw him on the periphery, but he was not my focus. I stood and talked to Paul Byron, who was busy writing about how the former spoon of rejection had just crossed the 20-goal mark for the second season in a row, and wrote a rather compelling story that I was more interested in developing after dedicating my previous column. to the Price binding Plante for this particular stage.
In the end, what Price achieved that night didn’t put him behind Plante on the all-time winning list of the franchise – Price would have done it a little less than a year later with his 314th win as Canadien – and the conversation with him could wait, because it would just allow me to make sure that I can collect a quote that is worth using as a footnote to Byron’s unique achievement.
It was only seconds after Price was available that my plan changed and turned Byron’s story into a footnote to a moment I knew would forever be etched in my memory.
During the match, coming out of a television time-out, the Canadians paid tribute to Price’s career on the scoreboard, which included rescues and video messages from Montreal legends Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. By the time it was over, Bell Center fans exploded, offering Price the biggest applause he’d ever received in Montreal to date.
The Canadians lost the 557th start to Price to the Winnipeg Jets, which was quite appropriate given how much they – and he – have struggled this season.
Then someone asked Price what this tribute and applause meant to him, and his answer struck me.
“It was definitely an emotional moment for me,” Price began with tears in his eyes. “I didn’t expect it to be, but this video and the applause was something I really needed. I’m really grateful and I really appreciate that. “
Something I really needed.
This was Carrie Price, the franchise goalkeeper; Kerry Price, who was anointed as the savior of the Canadians on the day he was elected in 2005, and was considered so from the moment he helped Canada win the World Junior Gold in 2007 to the time he won awards. for MVP with Calder Cup champion Hamilton Bulldogs through the day he took over from Christobal Huet in the rookie season and almost to the point of setting that record; Carrie Price, Olympic gold medalist; Carrie Price, world champion; Winner of Carrie Price, Hart, Vezina and Jennings; Carrie Price, Ted Lindsay Award winner.
I couldn’t help but say that he needed to feel the love of a fan base that had long since deified him.
Price has always played cool, bordering on indifference. But it wasn’t a deep moment then either.
But as surprising as it was to hear those words come out of his mouth, it was understandable. Carrie Price, whom we saw this season, didn’t look like the embellished legend she became. He was almost unrecognizable in the first months, which played a significant role in the fact that the Canadians quickly fell out of the playoffs and never recovered, and he heard more boos and mocking applause on his way than he probably ever thought he would from its fold.
It hurts.
But I never knew how long until that night. It wasn’t until I conceded five goals to the Jets and said how much it meant to him that the audience acknowledged that he had transferred Plante, that I really realized how much it all meant to him.
I have thought about these words many times since then – and the feelings behind them. I’ve been thinking about them especially since July, when Price went from the Stanley Cup final straight to knee surgery, and since October, when he went from training camp training to preparing to announce to the world that he’s moving away from hockey and starting a facility. rehabilitation to hopefully eliminate a long-standing substance abuse problem.
Those words resonated when he returned from treatment, and they rang in my ears again all Friday, with Price finally overcoming several setbacks to return for the 696th start of his career.
After a 284-day absence from his fold, the 34-year-old made his way to him during a warm-up with the familiar – and no doubt comforting – roar of fans echoing throughout the Bell Center.
It was special.
But when Price was introduced as a member of the starting lineup and received a standing ovation, it made it one of the most memorable nights in the recent history of the Canadians – and certainly that of the 26-year-old Bell Center.
Emotions revolted every time fans chanted “WARNING! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! “
They did so after Price’s first save of the night – an accidental save with a blocker by Kyle Palmieri at 3:32 of the first period – and did so seven more times before the New York Islanders came out of the ice with 3-0 winners.
This moment in 2018 came back to mind and made it unnecessary to guess what this means for Price.
“It was obviously heartbreaking,” he said after the match. “It made me feel really, I guess, wanted.”
That’s what he told Price, which only confirmed how much Canadiens’ approval means to him.
He needed that.
His wife, Angela, and his children, Liv, Millie, and Lincoln, who were sitting by the glass holding a sign reading “I love you, Daddy,” needed it. His parents, Jerry and Linda, needed that. The fans present – and those watching at home – needed it. And the Canadiens, who had nothing to celebrate this brutal season, also needed it.
“He’s been the face of the franchise since joining the organization and carries a lot of weight on his shoulders and is a great role model for everyone and he really is a Montreal Canadian to the core,” said teammate Nick Suzuki. “It simply came to our notice then. The fans feel it, so do we. ”
The Canadians showed it in the way they played, accumulating 89 strike attempts against 39 in New York and dominating the game with the exception of two careless series.
Ilya Sorokin was beyond the world in the network of islanders.
The price was Price. He was helpless in a 3-0 attack, becoming the first goal he has conceded since game 5 in the final, with Zac Paris easily finishing Matt Barzal’s pass to give the islanders a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of the third period. He didn’t stand a chance for Noah Dobson’s goal, and certainly none of the spectators hit an empty door as he sat on the bench so the Canadians could send in an extra striker. He made 17 good saves and once again heard the crowd chanting his name as the last seconds ticked on the clock and the puck found his glove.
Fans were so generous with Price that their initial applause stopped for a moment of silence to honor the life of legendary local hero and islander Mike Bossi, who died of lung cancer earlier in the day at age 65. They bathed him in love as he tried, as he put it, “to stay focused because I wanted to play well tonight.”
“He is a quiet man, he has such calm and passive behavior,” Byron said. “But deep down, I know it meant a lot to him. That meant a lot to his family. He doesn’t always express his emotions, but I can imagine that the crowd will be greeted that way. They showed how much they love him and it was an amazing experience he had here in his career. He is an amazing goalkeeper and everyone was really happy to bring him back – including us – such a special evening for him. “
It didn’t matter if it was one of Price’s last in a Canadian uniform or in this league. He will have plenty of time to speculate on his future and all he had to say about it was that his focus from here until the end of the season would be “just start to feel good about my game as a whole” and just “yes” I can feel like I’m playing at a level that I find acceptable. “
Price said he felt good overall, perhaps a little rusty in his readings, but prepared and “out of place.”
He didn’t have to say he missed it; it was obvious. He lacked all of that, as his rehabilitation after knee surgery was protracted due to, as he put it, the age and movements required by his position.
“That’s all there is to the game – being able to sit there in your cab before the game and laugh, the preparation and the focus and the competitive nature of the game,” Price said after being asked exactly what he was missing. “Everything that goes with it – the buzzing of the crowd, the rescue, listening to the chanting.”
They have always meant a lot to him. More than I or anyone else ever imagined.
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