MONTREAL – With about 20 seconds to go until the end of the 10-2 victory for his Montreal Canadiens on Friday, Kerry Price threw his stick on his net and began waving to his family. This happened while the game was still going on – with the Canadiens owning the puck just 10 feet away – and there’s no way to know for sure what it symbolizes.
Was he so excited about his first win of the season that he couldn’t wait to celebrate?
Just ended when the Canadians won more than a touchdown after scoring at least five goals in 31 of their 82 games this season?
Or was Price just wondering how those last seconds as a Canadian might have been?
Before the expiration, he made 37 saves against the Florida Panthers – 30 would have finished the game – and celebrated his 361st victory in his 700th start.
But Price wasn’t around after the game to talk about it.
Pierre Gervais (the team’s equipment manager, who worked in his last game on Friday after 35 years in office) was and he is considering what the future holds for No. 31.
“I hope for the best and whatever he hopes for,” Gervais said. “This man, I’ve said it before, he’s amazing, he’s been through a lot. He works so hard off the ice and hopefully this summer will be a good summer for him; he will be in tune with all his doctors and (to deal with) all his injuries and there will be a few more seasons, I hope. ”
Gervais, who is known for being omniscient about all things close and dear to the Canadians, did not deny that this may be the last for Price in Montreal or the NHL.
“It’s possible,” Gervais said. “I am not a doctor, but it is possible.
“But that would be a great way to finish; tonight was amazing. ”
It was a lot better than what we saw most nights this season – the Canadiens fell to the bottom of the standings in the beginning and finished last in the NHL before the puck even fell. They hit the trophies won by the Panthers presidents (or a version of them, with Panthers resting virtually all of their best players before what they hope will be a very long playoff cycle) and got everyone but two of their players, to register at least a point in the game.
Cole Cofield, who started the season with one goal in his first 30 games, managed to score three to bring his total goal to 23 in 67 games. He ended up in second place for rookie goals with Trevor Zegras (74 games), Michael Bunting (79 games) and Lucas Raymond (82 games) and could leave for home or the World Cup – he has not yet decided – feeling that she has achieved something.
Fans chanted “Cofield! Cofield! Cofield! both after scoring his third goal and after the match, he turned to them and thanked them for their support.
“I’m not going to lie, I feel pretty good,” Kaufield told the media. “I think it was a fun night for all of us, playing for some very important people in our organization, and I think it was a good way to go out and end the season with a win.”
And then Kauffield said that about Price:
“It means everything to us (to win for him),” he began. “He’s the backbone of our team, he’s the person you want to play for, and just being in the room every day was something special and you just feel the energy he carries, whether he’s excited or not.
“You just feel it there and it helps a lot that he’s very good at his job.”
Whether Price believes he can be as good as he expects is a question only he can answer. And he may not want to come on Saturday, when the Canadians will maintain their media presence at the end of the season.
The week of the future 35-year-old started on the sidelines. He traveled to New York to meet with surgeon Richard Marx on a knee procedure last July that restored his meniscus but took much longer than expected to heal. Several setbacks – after a month in the NHL / NHLPA player support program – turned what was supposed to be an 8- to 10-week recovery into an almost year-long absence, and there were fears that Price had another setback after just four games. of action.
Without any official words, Price returned to the ice on Thursday, although the Canadians had a day off. He led the ice skating team on Friday and was confirmed as starter shortly thereafter by coach Martin St. Louis.
After Price lifted his wand from his net and returned to squatting with the passage of time in the game, the audience applauded him and the Canadians.
It chanted “Carrie!” Carey! Carey! after his first save of the evening and again, late in the game, when he shone to the top of his crease to save former teammate Ben Chiaro with a wind glove.
Price smiled as the Canadians stood along the blue line, greeting fans before handing out their T-shirts and signing autographs.
“I think that meant a lot,” St. Louis said. “I think he wanted to play towards the end and in the first few games we didn’t give him any support in running, so it could have been different. But I think he won this game, I think it means a lot. If he puts himself in his place, struggling with what he’s struggling with, the level he’s playing in this league, and he has his own expectations – the best guys in this league are really tough on themselves – so for him to end up like that, I’m really happy for him. “
Gervais was more than just pleased with Price.
“I’m so, so, so happy for Carrie Price,” he said. “He is an extraordinary man. It doesn’t matter the goalkeeper who was the best in the world and all the things he did; I had the opportunity to be alone with him in the locker room very early in the morning, and he is just an extraordinary person. “
They won together with the team of Canada – Olympic champions in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, which remains for Gervais as his best memory of Price.
“This man here,” he said, “I’ve never seen a hockey player – even my New York Rangers colleague in Sochi said, ‘What the hell is this man?'” He was the first person. who arrived, full suit, cowboy hat, trick … It was amazing and I had no doubt that we would win the gold medal in Sochi. Kerry was invincible. “
Now less, hence all the uncertainty.
The price is under contract for four more seasons. He has an average annual salary of $ 10.5 million and still owes $ 31.25 million – $ 24.25 million of which must be paid as signing bonuses – and it is currently impossible to say whether he will play again. Injuries have accumulated over the years and confirmed this suspicion, as he has appeared in only five of 82 games this season.
Maybe Price will announce on Saturday that he will continue and that he intends to do so with the Canadiens for as long as he wishes.
But if that’s not the case, he spent his last seconds in the only uniform he ever wore in this league – the game franchise leader started and won – sharing it with the people who matter most to him.
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