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Now that the San Jose Sharks locked up goaltender Antti Niemi for one year, one would have to figure that Montreal Canadiens’ netminder and RFA Carey Price would smarten up and work out a deal with the Habs, right?
Those people would be correct because today, the Habs inked their franchise netminder to a two-year deal. With the deal, which according to Tony Marinaro is worth 5.5 million, the Canadiens now have a No.1 netminder heading into training camp and obviously, the season.
What kind of netminder are they getting? Are they getting someone who is immature, does too much in the limelight and has odd off-season activities or are they getting someone who is ready to be the goaltender everyone expects him to be?
These are the questions that are going to have to be answered and answered in the right way because if they’re not, there will be trouble for Les Habitants. Remember, this is the team that traded Stanley Cup Playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues. A goaltender that got them to the playoffs and took them to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Price hasn’t exactly done that for the Habs and has faltered for the club in big spots. Sure, he took the Canadiens to the second round 2008 only to struggle mightily against the underdog Philadelphia Flyers. He then went on to struggle in the first round in 2009 against the Boston Bruins and last season, he didn’t exactly standout when given a chance to against the Washington Capitals.
However, let’s take this back to the present. Price is back in the fold and is clearly someone that Habs’ executives believe in.
Now, it’s time for Price to get the players and fans on his side and show the league and its fans that he is a true No.1 netminder who just needed time to mature and become the goaltender he was suppossed to be since the team drafted him in the first round back in the 2005 draft.
