Carey Price will be remembered as one of the best goalies of his generation. Price, who has not technically officially retired, has not played a game since April of 2022, and everyone around the league has acknowledged that his playing is over.
Price will leave a legacy as a Vezina Trophy Winner, League MVP, Olympic Gold Medalist, and the Montreal Canadiens all-time wins leader, and has an argument to be considered the greatest goaltender in the history of the most storied franchise in the sport.
With everything he did for the team, he will forever be known as one of the great Montreal Canadiens of all time, but if Habs fans had their way in the summer of 2010, Price's tenure in Montreal would have come to an end after three seasons with the team.
In the spring of 2010, the Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference just sneaking into the post-season. After the first four games of round one against Alex Ovechkin and the President Trophy-Winning Washington Capitals, it seemed destined that Montreal's run in the post-season was going to be a short stay that year, but then Jaroslav Halak happened.
Halak stole three straight for the Canadiens, including a 53-save masterclass in Game 6 that led to Montreal coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and winning a Game 7 on the road shocking the Capitals, to set up a second-round matchup against two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion, as well as reigning Stanley Cup Champions in Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Against the defending champs and with the brick wall Halak in the crease, the Canadiens once again came back from a series deficit (this time 3-2), went into Pittsburgh where they won Game 7 by a score of 5-2 to clinch their first Conference Finals appearance since 1993, the last time the time won the Stanley Cup.
Sadly, the magical run for Halak & the Canadiens ended in five games against another playoff Cinderella in the East, with the 7-seed Philadelphia Flyers advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.
Heading into the off-season, and after Halak's unbelievable performance in the playoffs, there seemed to be no debate among Habs fans about who they wanted to be the team's goalie in October when the season would begin. The only two questions the fanbase was asking was what could the team get in return for Price and which team could would Montreal the most in return.
Well, as we know now, General Manager at the time Pierre Gauthier decided to shock the hockey world and went with Price. In a gutsy move, the Canadiens dealt Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues, and the net in Montreal was Carey Price's once again.
Needless to say, that summer, the Canadiens fanbase was not happy with the team's decision at the time (I truly recommend watch the interview below to get a real grasp of the situation), but after putting their trust in him Price rewarded the team and the fans by putting up his best season to date.
During the 2010-11 season, Price started 72 games, earning 38 wins, 8 shutouts, all with a .923 save percentage. Montreal finished sixth in the East, which was an improvement in the regular season, but in the playoffs, the Canadiens were knocked out in Game 7 overtime by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in their longtime rival, the Boston Bruins.
That season was a sign of things to come for the next decade in Montreal as Price went on to have a Hall of Fame worthy career with the Habs. Funnily enough, in his final post-season run with the team, he was the backbone of another fairytale run for the Habs as he led the team to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, where the Canadiens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Clearly, the team made the right decision keeping their faith in Price, but at the time, it was not a popular or slam dunk choice. The possibility of Price not being in Montreal after the 2010 playoffs is truly one of the bigger "What-If?" NHL scenarios of the 2000s thus far. How different would NHL history have been if Habs fans got their way in 2010? Good thing we never found out.
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