20 Games in – Litmus test awaits Carey Price

Photo credit: Richard Wolowicz / Getty Images

Everyone knows Montreal Canadiens fans and the media who feed them are fickle beasts. Always ready to pounce on anything negative in a game of sensationalist one-upmanship that Quebecers do so well. Controversy, real or tabloid is the life energy that keeps this city fed and warm during long winter nights and just one thing messes with that… winning.

Carey Price came into this season primed for failure. Many expected it, everyone feared it. Participating in rodeo events, even team-approved events and waiting two and a half months after the Jaroslav Halak trade to sign a 2 year extension with the Habs, created a vacuum of time that was filled with rumour and speculation. And there it festered.

The result was Carey Price being booed in his first exhibition game. Everyone was primed and ready to let Price know how exactly how they felt about Halak being traded and Carey supplied the fuel by allowing 3 goals on the first 5 Bruin shots, including a particularly soft goal by Nathan Horton. When Price was replaced by Auld, he had surrendered 4 goals on just 10 shots and everyone envisioned a mushroom cloud over the city of Montreal the following day as fans and media alike would and did vent.

Price’s next start against Ottawa was no better, coughing up 6 goals on 30 shots but he rebounded to finish the pre-season with 6-2 and 7-2 wins over Florida & New York as the Habs took advantage of the Panther’s goalie of the future, Jacob Markstom and an Islanders split-squad. Confidence builders? Perhaps.

Twenty games into the season, the Habs netminder has silenced his critics with a 2.00 GAA and a save percentage of .932 while posting a 12-6-1 record. Last year over the same period, Price had a 3.08 GAA and a .904 save percentage resulting in a brutal 4-9-0 record, thanks in part to the Canadiens scoring a meager 2.00 goals a game for him on average. Subtract the Vancouver game which began the unraveling of Price’s season and he would have posted a respectable .915 save percentage instead. Problem is, the Vancouver game did happen and Carey Price never recovered from it.

This season, the Habs are still struggling to provide Price with offensive support. Excluding the Carolina game which saw the Canadiens explode for 7 goals, 3 against backup Justin Peters, they’ve averaged just 2.29 goals a game so far versus the 2.28 average the Habs gave him last season. All in however, the Habs are currently averaging 2.53 goals a game which will be severely tested going forward as the number of games played increases this season, more so without Markov.

Success in the NHL, like all professional sports is a game of adjustments and mental toughness. The ditch is full of talented players who couldn’t adjust to adversity at the pro level. Carey Price got off to a solid start last season with wins against Toronto & Buffalo before he met his Waterloo in Vancouver. Excluding the pre-season, Price has yet to play a bad game and it wasn’t until his 18th start of the season against Nashville that he let in a soft goal reminiscent of last year. An excellent start to the marathon that is the NHL regular season but the litmus test has yet to be given.

How will Carey Price react to adversity this year, this time? One glance at the emotional outbursts of Toronto’s Jonas Gustavsson on Saturday offered stark contrast to the body language Price has shown so far this season. Add in his deflection of praise onto teammates at every opportunity and its promising indeed but let’s stop the talk of redemption, at least with 62 games still to play and hopefully more after that.

Concerns still linger in the minds of many over how Price will respond to the losing streak that all teams endure over the course of a season. And they happen. The difference is that good teams are capable of minimizing them before they take on a life of their own. Has Carey Price matured enough to adjust this time? Is he more mentally prepared to maintain an even keel and does he now possess the professional work ethic needed for long-term NHL success?

Many who still feel the Montreal Canadiens made a mistake trading Jaroslav Halak are waiting for it, many members of the media who live for controversy are surely waiting for it… fans who parrot what they see and hear in the media are waiting for it. I’m waiting for it.

So far, so good for Carey Price but until he demonstrates it, fingers crossed.

Anatomy of a trade rumour – Carey Price wants out?

Way back in the not so long ago… hockey fans had to rely on local papers, television and sports-radio during the week for trade rumours that were supposedly circulating around the NHL. I always looked forward to Saturday nights and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada in the hope that someone would mention a rumour involving the Montreal Canadiens during one of their segments. Of course, back then reporters like Al Strachan still had credibility outside of Ontario. Proof-positive that ignorance truly is bliss.

Today, with the Internet convergence of every form of media, old and new, you’d think it’d become easier for fans to trace a rumour back to its source, not harder. If only. What’s preventing this search for knowledge is the ever-shrinking Internet attention span, caused primarily by information overload. Most don’t take the time or have the patience while others just don’t have the time in their lives to be bothered. Besides, rumours are best savoured in the dark.

The bulk of trade rumours start as speculation pieces or voiced opinion about players who don’t actually play in those cities. It’s always been that way but it was almost impossible to know until recently, not unless you had access to media monitoring rooms at work that collected papers from around North America. Who didn’t, right?

From the moment a rumour is floated, it begins to morph. Important qualifiers are dropped along the way and it’s not long before the original source isn’t mentioned at all or it no longer matters if it does. It’s all part of the ratings game since rumours are in fact a form of currency, traded among old and new media for mutual benefit. After all, nothing generates web hits and ratings like rumours.

The most recent example is the rumour that Carey Price wants out of Montreal. If you’re like me, this came completely out of the blue and ran contrary to everything I’ve seen and heard since Carey Price finally signed his 2 year extension, 77 days after Jaroslav Halak was traded. Where did it come from and how did it start? Speculation from Toronto.

Bill Waters, a man whose reputation precedes him, currently has a radio show on AM640 in Toronto and late Friday afternoon interviewed Montreal’s Pat Hickey. To quote Bill:

“Pat, I was watching the game… they gave him a standing ovation and one of his defensive mates… I mean, you couldn’t read lips but he’s obviously said… Hey Carey, they’ve given you a standing ovation… and he did that chicken man act inside his… ah, moving his arms up and down and I said to myself, I said self, that’s a strong indication that he really doesn’t give a damn whether they cheer for him or not. Is it also an indication that this is his last contract in Montreal, or have I jumped to conclusions?”

Yes Mr. Watters, you have. Creative license, speculation and opinion blended together to create a rumour where none existed, nor had reason to exist prior. Personally, I thought Pat Hickey did a great job setting him straight and thought little of it, until today.

Cue the teasers like “Price unhappy in Montreal?” The usual suspects floated it and popular sites like HFboards had 12,000+ views on the subject, including many members of the media who lurk there for rumours and story ideas. And it’s only spread from there. The few who actually listened to the interview have been drowned out by those who generate trade proposals from a Pez Dispenser and the “it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not” crowd whose mainstay is expressing opinion as fact.

So, here we have a rumour that had no reason to exist. Complete fabrication that was immediately debunked by a very well-informed member of the Montreal media who covers the Canadiens. And it still spread. Pass the Pez please.