GOD! does that contract would be hard to shed...the only way that contract doesn't go down in history as one of the worst ever is if Carey Price singlehandedly wins a Stanley Cup...and everyone knows that chances of that happening are...rather...thin? "Lotto Max winning" like thin? Lol

You realize that the contract he signed at his age is basically the same as Rinne and Lundqvist, right? He has 8 years left on it, hasn’t played a single game for it and your already saying it’s the worst ever, yet it’s the same cap hit at the same age as those other two goalies who are both 35+ and still playing.

*I took the liberty of putting a part of your reply (as seen quoted right above this) in bold for you to remember during the reading of this reply

Alright! Someone's challenging me without even checking his fact first...I like that! Let's show him how it's done

Pekka Rinne :
- His contract started when he was 29 years old, not 31 like Price.
- His contract was for 7 years, not 8. He's under contract until age 36, not 39 like Price.
- His cap hit % (which is the only mesure you can use to RIGHTFULLY compare both contract) is at 10.89%, not like Price's 14%. By comparison, if Price would have signed for 10.89% in 2017, he would have had an AAV of 8.1675M$ (which is 2.3325M$ less per year for 8 years).
- He doesn't have a NMC for the entire contract (only the first 4 seasons) where Price as one for the entire contract (8 years).

H.Lundqvist :
- Let's start by saying that everyone said it was a VERY bad contract the moment it was signed. "#toomuchmoney #thelastyearswillhurtalot #8yearsforanaginggoalieisstupid" were the most popular comments people had about this move...same goes for the Price contract.
- His contract started when he was 32 (31 for Price).
- His contract was for 7 years (8 years for Price). It's basically the same as of right now. Equally horrible!
- His cap hit % is 13.22%, Price is 14% (for an additionnal year). If Price would have signed for 13.22%, he would have had an AAV of 9.915M$ (which is 585 000$ less per year for 8 years).

There you have it. It's not the same contract for both Lundqvist and Rinne (not even remotely close for Rinne) than for Price. The H.L. one resemble the Price one and it was always seen as an horrible contract from the start. That's why Price's contract is even more horrible and will go down in history as one of the worst ever.

Case and point.

Schooled!

See ya

Rinne I’ll concede, but he also hadn’t achieved the same level as Price. Lundqvist is the closest comparison and even though thought as a bad contract, were the Rangers not a top team in the east for the past 6 years because of him?

Maybe seen as a bad contract but they have reaped many playoff appearances from him, even now at (honestly little drunk) gonna guess 38 and he is still there. That teams best years with him came in the last years of that contract, ultimately coming up short but still made the ECF one year.

Price earned even more then Lundqvist did just because of the god like season he had, I’m not saying that justifies everything, but welcome to the NHL, where it’s basically a game of high jump, set the bar, beat the bar, move it higher. Price had the leaverage to move that bar and he did.

I am not sure either of you are giving Price enough credit. He had a bad season last year, yet looking at his previous - dominant - five, last season appears to be a statistical anomally. Most pundits - not people sitting at a computer from their home or office - would agree with this. He's a top 5 goaltender and will remain that way for at least the next 5-6 years. While the cap hit is high, I assume the Canadiens consider him a must.

I also do not think it would be as hard to move as some are stating. The Flyers, for instance, have been a goaltender away from a Cup since Parent, and should JUMP at the chance to get him. He has always been a goaltender that could single handedly get his team to the playoffs or, at the very least, gives the team 5-10 wins it had no business winning. He's a stud. Most teams - with exception of Washington, Columbus, NYR, and Anaheim, would jump at obtaining him, however the cost would be extremely high.

I know...I've considered a world in which you'll come at me with a rather childish, internet trolling post that is ended - rather poinently - by "Schooled!" Yet at this point, I rarely if ever look at the responses on this site anymore. They're always pretty mean, and coming from people that have no real reason to be mean or even know that much about the sport itself: They just pretend to. The website is supposed to be fun, not cutting people down. Again, you can respond, but I'm not sure you'll actually get me to read it.

Agreed. The problem is that more than most positions, goaltending is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately job. If Price had put up his 2016-17 numbers last year, the Habs wouldn't have sucked as much and no one would be questioning the $10M/year (they might question the term, but by then, he'll be a painless buyout if needed).

Also, worth remembering, after every CBA negotiation, we've ended up with a compliance buyout window. It's a safe bet that if Price is washed up and playing like he did last year, Mr. Molson will cut a cheque and cut his losses.

Completely agree with the buyout option. I never thought about that (as I am sure our good friend that was bashing Price's contract hadn't either). The Habs will be fine: They may not be the best this season or next, but they'll come around eventually. They always do.

Let me start by saying that you're right about my attitude. I wrote this message coming back from the bar late last night and, though the point of the message was absolutely true and well presented/analyzed, I shouldn't have been that cocky and childish (damn alcool...). My bad...I'll be more carefull next time.

I'm a huge Habs fan so you can bet that I want Price to get back to form. I also totally understand that it was a huge down year for virtually everyone on the team except Gallagher & Petry and that Price remains in the top 3 goalies in the world (you say top 5, I say top 3). I have no difficulty imagining him getting back on track as soon as this season (I don't want that to happen, though, since they need to finish at the bottom to get back on track quicker with high picks...and that won't happen if Price plays like he can and finishes the year with a .929% & 2.43GAA lol!). The thing is, the team is very weak (and about to get weaker with trades to come) and Price has been known to not be the strongest "between the ears" and feel the immense pressure on his shoulder, put by the Habs fans, and not be able to withstand it all. I fear that he'll be negatively affected by all that (bad team, high pressure because of his contract and bad year last season, desire to win a cup, etc.) and that he will regress faster than other high end goalies have in the past. I'm not as confident as you guys are that he'll regain his previous norm and maintain it until age 37-38...He had a lot of personal problems, in the past when he was younger, and just last season (though mainstream media wouldn't confirm it for fear of being outcast by the organisation) when he faced intense problems on a personal level.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that no goalies in the league deserve that kind of money since the position isn't as key or hard anymore. Sure it's not an easy job, that's not what I'm trying to say, but finding replacement to at the very least give you a shot at the cup, isn't as hard as it was 7-8-10 years ago. Look at the goalies who met in the finals in the previous 7-8 years...only Jonathan Quick & B.Holtby (though he didn't even start the playoffs as their starter!) was regarded as a top3-5 goalies in the world (MAYBE also T.Thomas in 2011...). Guys like Murray, Niemi, Luongo, Jones, Bishop, Crawford, Fleury, Rinne, Rask, Lundqvist are all very good goalies, but they're not the "cream of the cream" (ok again MAYBE Lundqvist still was...but not top3). My point is everyone around the league (GMs, Scouts, hockey analysts & insiders, fans) has realize that 4 or 5 years ago. Teams almost never draft goalies in the first round anymore (0 first & 2 second in 2018, 1 first & 1 second in 2017, 0 first & 4 second in 2016, 1 first & 1 second in 2015, 0 first & 5 second in 2014). You're better served by allowing more to your D-core or F-core than you are at your goalies. The NHL average is 7M$, right now...Habs have 11.45M$ allowed to goalies and will have for the forseable future. That extra 4,5M$ could fetch you a good second line player or top4 D-man...Just my two cents.

Just want to say, I've re-read my message and I'm sorry about the cockiness of it. It was late, I was coming back from the bar...even thought the message was true and well presented/analyzed, I shouldn't have added those stupid words. Once again, I'm sorry. I'm better than that!

All valid points guys. @jp_harvey @Subbanator7667 @markmws @Truebeliever

I think there's only one way to really look at it though, that no one really is bringing up.

What was the alternative?

Trade Price? Molson wouldn't sign off on that and we all know this.. MB would be fired on the spot as he'd be trading Price for younger, less proven assets as the basis of any Price deal (before his extension was signed) and that would mean a rebuild. We all know this team does not want to publicly say "Rebuild" and that has to do with Molson's input also. It will mean less dollars going to him and he would rather put a less stellar product on the ice to keep that revenue stream going than play for the long term health of his team.

Hold out on Price? Yeah in hindsight that would of been the smart but then again, how many players go on to have great years in their last years of their contract...not the worst years of their careers...That was a monumental risk. If he wanted 10.5 now what would have he got with another big season to close out his contract, not to mention the potential of him leaving for nothing? So hold out on Price now you have Price playing bad like he in reality did and everyone's now saying "The uncertainty of his contract status is whats distracting him". We all know the MTL media would spark some sort of negativity about it and than comes the fans scrutiny. "We had the best goalie in the world and we held out on him. Is MB stupid?". On and on and on it goes.

So I ask again. What was the alternative? Price is the most accomplished goalie of our generation other than Stanley Cups. There was no alternative. MB had to sign Price before the season starts (I believe it was right?). He couldn't trade him. He just finished making a very unpopular trade for Weber with the explanation that the window was to win now. Trading Price was counter-intuitive to what he was feeding the media and fans and owner!

The next important thing to remember is; what are the specifics of why this is a bad contract?

-Length? He would of got 8 years anywhere if it was offered so its not a big deal. (7 on the open market) Good goalies typically play till 36-39 with their play starting to regress within that area. This is the problem with all UFA signings for over 30 players though. There will always be a portion of that contract that will look horrible. Don't want that to happen? Don't ever resign/sign players who are over 30 years old to more than 2 year contracts. So in other words, never resign any UFA status player. That's not realistic. Even though a smart team IMO would take advantage of this and come out ahead but that's just me.

-The cap? Yep, its high. Its also a trend setter contract.... anytime you are the highest paid of a category, your breaking new ground. By the time Price is 38, goalies will be making 10M left and right. I think some are exaggerating how bad this contract is precisely because of the bad season he just had. Had he been just as good as the previous year, there would be a lot less negativity, it would still be scrutinized but not nearly the way it is now.. Its the uncertainty that is getting people to exaggerate. Price is 31 guys, he still can be elite level good for the next 4-5 years of that contract. Lundqvist, Quick, Thomas, Luongo, Miller, Smith, Rinne, etc etc etc These guys are all still top talented goaltenders at their ages or at least were at one point during their 34-38 years. Can we please give Price the same benefit of the doubt? One other thing that can't be ignored is the QC tax. Comparing $ to $ in TB and MTL isn't fair. MTL plays with a handicap against them and the NHL won't acknowledge this. So its up to these teams to be extra creative where they shouldn't have to. Meaning Price just needs to point the Quebec flag and he gets probably 1M more than 20 other cities in the NHL simply because of where he lives. Haven't even gotten into the media spotlight/high expectation/weather being a factor that can be used as leverage in negotiation if needed.

-% of the cap? As I said its a trend setting contract. I think that is also misleading. It should be "relative % of cap". Habs don't win unless Price is in that lineup. Would the Habs be just as bad if they didn't have Shaw, Schlemko and Alzner instead? No way. I think they hindered more than they helped last year. Price can make the 700K dmen look much better than they are. Can't say those other two guys make that much of a difference as Price does. So yes that % is high. Higher than any other but of all the players getting 12+ % or higher of team cap, which is most important to their teams? Hard to not say Price is by far the most important. McDavid being the only contender who might take it.


So I ask a third time. What is the alternative? Rebuild? I would love nothing more than the Habs rebuilding but if the big boss doesn't want that, the boss doesn't want that. There was literally nothing to be done with Price. We had to sign him 10.5M for 8 years and we have to hope that he plays the way he's capable for only 2/3's of it. That final 3rd of his contract, where he'll probably suck, isn't a choice. Its a retirement gift for the 10+ years he killed for the Habs at less than true value before hand........ That's the price, no pun intended, of keeping star players past their primes.

All I ask is that Price play well during his first 4-5 seasons of that contract. The rest I could care less. By that point it'll be less about whether he's playing up to that contract and more up to management getting creative with his contract and if that means buying him out, trading him with an asset to get rid of him, etc etc, that's the price of having Price. (pun intended)

Hey man I’m no better, God argueing hockey with someone drunk is just to fun though. Can’t wait for October. Apologies back to you and hope you enjoy your weekend