Sportsnet Staff
Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes says he doesn't expect star goalie Carey Price to be ready for the start of the season -- and it's possible he won't play at all in 2022-23.
Following the trade that sent Sean Monahan to Montreal on Thursday, Hughes said on a media conference call that news on Price's injured knee is "discouraging."
"The news about Carey's knee is pretty discouraging in the sense that there hasn't been any improvement throughout the the rehab process," Hughes said. "All last season it obviously continued to create problems for him. This summer he went thought the process of a shot to the knee, seeing if that would help. It did not. "At this point, we don't expect Carey to be available for the start of the season, quite frankly I don't know if there 's path for Carey to return this season through the rehab process. Hughes said he expects Price to go on long-term injured reserve. For the Habs GM, rehabbing doesn't seem like it will be enough for Price to return to the ice. "That's a question we'll be able to better answer after we speak to Carey and our doctors at the start of training camp so I can't answer right now but I think that if there's a way for Carey to return to play it will require surgery on his part." Hughes said. "So that's something we'll need to have more information about before giving you an answer but I can answer that we don't think that Carey will be able to return to play with with rehab." Price has four seasons remaining on his eight-year, $84-million contract signed in 2017. The goaltender commands a $10.5-million annual average value.
The latest news on Carey Price's health is not encouraging.
Speaking to reporters following the acquisition of Sean Monahan, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was asked to provide an update on Price's recovery from a knee injury that robbed him of all but five games last season. The update is far from the hopeful message fans were hoping for, with Hughes saying that Price will not be ready for the start of the coming season and might not suit up in 2022-23 at all. After undergoing off-season knee surgery in the summer of 2021, Price missed the first 74 games of the regular season last year, enduring a number of setbacks in the process that at times threatened to end his career before miraculously working his way back into playing form and returning to the Canadiens line up for five games to close out the year, earning his first win in the club's final game of the year versus the President's Trophy-winning Florida Panthers. Price was also remarkably open about his struggles off of the ice throughout his lengthy recovery, as the former Vezina winner entered the NHL's player assistance program in December, preaching the importance of mental health outside of the rink. Under contract for $10.5 million annually for the next four seasons, Price will almost certainly be placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve by the Canadiens following training camp and allow the club to spend above the salary cap limit for as long as he is out. If this is the end of the line for Price in the NHL, the sport has lost one of the best goaltenders of his generation and a dominant player when at the peak of his powers.
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