The Price is Not Right!

According to a story on TSN Carey Price is hoping to make the Canadiens out of camp. Well, if that happens it could be the worst thing to happen to Price and the Canadiens.

There is no doubting Price's talent, his junior record speaks for itself, as does the way he helped the Hamilton Bulldogs to win the Calder Trophy.

The problem is, the Canadiens are not a team in great shape to win. They are not a team that could carry a young goaltender, in fact it's a team that could break one. Cover your eyes now Habs fans, but they are going to be fighting for their lives just to compete for the last playoff spot.

Last season, Montreal gave up the 3rd most shots against per game and were in the bottom third of the the league in goals against per game. Lets face it, the goalies were facing a shooting gallery.

This off-season they have done little to upgrade their defense, so unless there is a dramatic turn around in fortunes, it looks like it's going to be more of the same.

If you want an example of what not to do, you only have to look at the way the Penguins almost destroyed Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003-2004, by throwing him into the fire with little help. A young goalie needs to be given the tools around him to win. Now of course the Habs are better than that horrible Penguins team, but the principle is the same.

There is no need for Price to make the team this year, the Canadiens have Christobal Huet and Jaroslav Halak who are both more than capable NHL goalies. Let them carry the work load, while Price spends a full year in the AHL, he still have much to learn about the pro game.

Price needs to experience the rigors of the pro game, he has only experienced the highs of winning at the pro level for a few games, he needs to learn from the losses and how to overcome them.

It's a big step up from Juniors to the AHL and an even bigger leap to the NHL. For the future of the franchise, the right thing for Price is to serve his time in the AHL. A year from now he will be truly ready to make a long term impact.