Montreal Media, Team In A Tiff Over Carey Price
A strange slap fight soap opera going on in Montreal between the Canadiens franchise and the local media over injured goaltender Carey Price. When we last checked, Price was back at practice on a limited capacity though behind schedule in his return. And while nothing has changed ‘officially’ since then the media is starting to grow tired of the Habs’ smokescreen concerning his injury.
Although backup goaltender Mike Condon played admirably early in Price’s absence the team has been in a downward death spiral since the injury. That isn’t a surprise–he’s without a doubt the best goalie in the NHL and the defending Vezina Trophy (best goalie) and Hart Trophy (MVP) winner. Plus he’s the team’s de facto locker room leader. Not an easy guy to replace. The Canadiens started the season on a 17-4-2 run but have gone 10-20-2 since the injury. They’ve gone from leading the NHL to being three points out of a playoff spot.
There’s been some suspicion all along that Price’s injury was worse than the team has let on but they’ve not really been questioned on it. That changed today when Richard Labbe of the French language newspaper La Presse napalmed them with an article suggesting that Price is done for the year and the team knows it: “Sources say team is no longer hoping for his return to action, as Price has been out since November with right knee injury, still not confirmed by team. At this point, the optimistic scenario appears to be for Price to return by season’s end, maybe in time for playoffs, if the team can make it that far in April.”
Making it all the more incendiary, Labbe continued to suggest that the Canadiens are creating a subterfuge that Price is closer to a return than he absolutely is for ‘marketing reasons’: “The team doesn’t think he’ll be back for the regular season at this point, wondering whether it is really worth it to try and push for him to come back, said an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation. They can’s say that publicly, they want to keep any hopes alive, however small. They don’t want fans to quit on their team. There is a marketing element to this.”
It’s not the first time any of this has been speculated, though it is the first time that a Montreal area journalist has been willing to put his name to these accusations.