Prospect Info: Jacob Fowler

[Leon Lucius Black]

Price did not really have issues outside of in the mind of fans.

His lowest saves % in career is 905 and this happened two random seasons only. His saves % his first three seasons was 920, 905 and 912. Price's problem was well the team sucked and some fans did not want to admit that. It was easier to just target Price. The fans of this team do not have the capacity to admit the team is bad they prefer to search for a cancer. Price, Kovalev, soon it will be Slaf ...

He had 3 bad playoffs runs but two of them ended in 4 games with the team giving him 0 goal support. He really only had one bad playoffs run where the team played well and it was the Halak year. Price's struggle is grossly exaggerated by fans. He was perfectly fine and had a great career behind what was for the most part a bad team with no 1st line center to speak off.

Price had his struggles in the early years of his career. He was thrown into a shitty position where the team overachieved his first year then Huet was traded and he was expected to pull a Patrick Roy and win a cup. The next two years he had lots of ups and downs, the Centennial year was a disaster where the team was expected to be a contender but there was a ton of injuries and the team fell back to earth, then the next season Gainey rebuilt like half the roster. During those two years he got outplayed by Halak and there was all the Halak vs. Price debates and he dealt with being booed from his own fans.

After this when Halak was traded Price really turned the corner, he then carried a lot of terrible teams on his back like you noted despite not having any goal support.

 

[OldCraig71]

But in 24CH back in the day, they said things would be different

Yeah, the foxhole days, when everyone was "in on it". I am not suggesting we drafted any gems during the 10-year tenure of MB, but we didn't end up with much on the NHL roster from our development squad.

 

[rahad]

Mirroring Price's 2007 run

Is kinda crazy that Price only played 12 regular games before jumping into the NHL. Fowler will probably need one full season in the AHL before joining the Habs in 2026-2027 season.

 

[dinodebino]

Carey Price made the jump right away at the same age and outgoalied Huet, playing half the games. And his peak is the best there was in the 2010s so I think we can all agree development wise it worked out just fine.

My point is, play him were he deserves based on his play, there’s no evidence AHL is better for development then NHL.

For every Carey Price there is a Spencer Knight.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Price did not really have issues outside of in the mind of fans.

His lowest saves % in career is 905 and this happened two random seasons only. His saves % his first three seasons was 920, 905 and 912. Price's problem was well the team sucked and some fans did not want to admit that. It was easier to just target Price. The fans of this team do not have the capacity to admit the team is bad they prefer to search for a cancer. Price, Kovalev, soon it will be Slaf ...

He had 3 bad playoffs runs but two of them ended in 4 games with the team giving him 0 goal support. He really only had one bad playoffs run where the team played well and it was the Halak year. Price's struggle is grossly exaggerated by fans. He was perfectly fine and had a great career behind what was for the most part a bad team with no 1st line center to speak off.

I think Price was a generational talent who didn’t quite have a generational career.

Lot of that is the teams in front of him. Injuries as well. Sometimes he just flat out crapped the bed. That mostly happened when Halak put goalied him. I think his other bad stretches were mostly due to injuries. Surprised the substance problems extended so late into his career. Wonder how much better he could’ve been.

I’ve always been kind of ticked at his contract honestly. I know most say he deserved it or it was MB’s fault but I thought it was kinda bs. He was missing a LOT of time and/or harboring a lot of injuries leading up to that contract and the team showed a ton of good faith in keeping him over Halak.

That all being said he went out like a champion even though he didn’t get the ring, he was beyond brilliant in that Cup run. Like beyond. Some of the finest goaltending I ever witnessed.

I feel so bad for him that he couldn’t have stretched out his career just a bit longer to be with this core. I’m sure he feels it too

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Carey didn't just split with Huet in 2007-08. He started the year in the AHL then came and stole the starting job like the other comment alluded to. Carey Price was the youngest goalie to become a starter in the 21st century. Carey Price was the last top 5, scratch that top 10 goalie selection in the draft. Not because there weren't good goalies, because unless you meet the Carey Price standard at that age, teams won't waste a top 10 pick on you. Like your gif alluded to, anyone who thinks Player X should follow the same developmental path as Price is bonkers. In his prime Price was legitimately a top 3 player in the league. Unless the habs are lucky enough to get another legendary status goalie (which based on their past isn't out of the question), goalies should probably take the path most taken instead of looking at unicorn Carey Price

Carey man… all we needed was a half decent GM and coach. What a waste for us.

 

[domiwroze]

Carey man… all we needed was a half decent GM and coach. What a waste for us.

It's crazy everytime I see him on social media I feel like I should apologize to him and we're not even the ones that did this bullshit to his career.

He'll be remembered as one of the great that never won instead. It's such a terrible fate for a competitive man.

Hey at least he has gold on his neck, right?

 

[Maitz]

It's crazy how the Habs always finds the next goaltender, teams like Toronto Philly have been looking for a real #1 for years and here we seems to develop them better than anything

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

Price had his struggles in the early years of his career. He was thrown into a shitty position where the team overachieved his first year then Huet was traded and he was expected to pull a Patrick Roy and win a cup. The next two years he had lots of ups and downs, the Centennial year was a disaster where the team was expected to be a contender but there was a ton of injuries and the team fell back to earth, then the next season Gainey rebuilt like half the roster. During those two years he got outplayed by Halak and there was all the Halak vs. Price debates and he dealt with being booed from his own fans.

After this when Halak was traded Price really turned the corner, he then carried a lot of terrible teams on his back like you noted despite not having any goal support.

Price inconsistent struggled early but could see signs. Halak beat him out. Once Berg's bought in Black Hawks goalie Price took off.

 

[WeThreeKings]

It's crazy how the Habs always finds the next goaltender, teams like Toronto Philly have been looking for a real #1 for years and here we seems to develop them better than anything

Just don't ask us to develop point producers.

 

[salbutera]

It's crazy how the Habs always finds the next goaltender, teams like Toronto Philly have been looking for a real #1 for years and here we seems to develop them better than anything

Every org has its DNA strengths, LA Dodgers & pitchers / Yankees & sluggers.

Conversely Habs have never drafted & developed a PPG C

 

[windycity]

I think Price was a generational talent who didn’t quite have a generational career.

Lot of that is the teams in front of him. Injuries as well. Sometimes he just flat out crapped the bed. That mostly happened when Halak put goalied him. I think his other bad stretches were mostly due to injuries. Surprised the substance problems extended so late into his career. Wonder how much better he could’ve been.

I’ve always been kind of ticked at his contract honestly. I know most say he deserved it or it was MB’s fault but I thought it was kinda bs. He was missing a LOT of time and/or harboring a lot of injuries leading up to that contract and the team showed a ton of good faith in keeping him over Halak.

That all being said he went out like a champion even though he didn’t get the ring, he was beyond brilliant in that Cup run. Like beyond. Some of the finest goaltending I ever witnessed.

I feel so bad for him that he couldn’t have stretched out his career just a bit longer to be with this core. I’m sure he feels it too

Putting alot of money on a goalie is almost always a bad idea. I mean Crawford and Niemi won cups (granted the Hawks were stacked otherwise)

 

[JianYang]

Life is all about timing. Brodeur started playing for the Devils precisely when Lemaire started building one of the best defensive teams in the history of hockey after being crap for a whole decade. Facing under 20 shots a game was regular thing for Brodeur in those years. Some get lucky some don't!

I agree about timing, but many goalies do struggle being at their best when they are less tested.

I think for brodeur to stay sharp in long droughts of action is a skill in itself. Dryden had this skill too.

Conversely, a guy like Curtis Joseph was a goalie who seemed to thrive on being the underdog and getting alot of rubber consistently.

 

[Tyson]

Putting alot of money on a goalie is almost always a bad idea. I mean Crawford and Niemi won cups (granted the Hawks were stacked otherwise)

That's one of the reasons why goalies are rarely drafted in the 1st round these days.

 

[JianYang]

Price had his struggles in the early years of his career. He was thrown into a shitty position where the team overachieved his first year then Huet was traded and he was expected to pull a Patrick Roy and win a cup. The next two years he had lots of ups and downs, the Centennial year was a disaster where the team was expected to be a contender but there was a ton of injuries and the team fell back to earth, then the next season Gainey rebuilt like half the roster. During those two years he got outplayed by Halak and there was all the Halak vs. Price debates and he dealt with being booed from his own fans.

After this when Halak was traded Price really turned the corner, he then carried a lot of terrible teams on his back like you noted despite not having any goal support.

I don't think gainey traded huet that deadline with the plan of not replacing him.

Montreal thought they had a deal in place for hossa that day until it was reported thay he was going to Pittsburgh with a few minutes to spare. Based on the speculation at the time, I'd be willing to wager that Johan Hedberg was also part of that deal.

Having Hedberg as a veteran would have been an insurance policy if price stumbled, but he wouldn't have been in Price's way either if he proved to be up to the task.

I think that made alot of sense.

 

[JianYang]

I think Price was a generational talent who didn’t quite have a generational career.

Lot of that is the teams in front of him. Injuries as well. Sometimes he just flat out crapped the bed. That mostly happened when Halak put goalied him. I think his other bad stretches were mostly due to injuries. Surprised the substance problems extended so late into his career. Wonder how much better he could’ve been.

I’ve always been kind of ticked at his contract honestly. I know most say he deserved it or it was MB’s fault but I thought it was kinda bs. He was missing a LOT of time and/or harboring a lot of injuries leading up to that contract and the team showed a ton of good faith in keeping him over Halak.

That all being said he went out like a champion even though he didn’t get the ring, he was beyond brilliant in that Cup run. Like beyond. Some of the finest goaltending I ever witnessed.

I feel so bad for him that he couldn’t have stretched out his career just a bit longer to be with this core. I’m sure he feels it too

Price came in for the 07/08 season. The team was in 1st place and things were going smoothly.

I think people seem to think back now and assume it was just an instant success but even price had to suffer through some significant growing pains.

The 2010-2011 was key for him to establish himself as a quality #1, especially since management traded halak prior to the season when he had a playoff for the ages.

After that, the noise was gone but it took a good 3 years of bumpy roads before price really settled in (frequent injuries aside).

 

[The Last Red]

Every org has its DNA strengths, LA Dodgers & pitchers / Yankees & sluggers.

Conversely Habs have never drafted & developed a PPG C

Although pre-draft era, they developed 16, 4, and 25.

 

[rahad]

It's crazy how the Habs always finds the next goaltender, teams like Toronto Philly have been looking for a real #1 for years and here we seems to develop them better than anything

And the Habs can never draft a PPG Center. We had so many great Goalies in this organization. Price wish he had Prime Suzuki in the Marc Bergevin era.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Putting alot of money on a goalie is almost always a bad idea. I mean Crawford and Niemi won cups (granted the Hawks were stacked otherwise)

Yeah I just don’t think that contract needed to be so…punitive

 

[WeThreeKings]

There's also a reason why McDavid doesn't have a cup.

You don't need the best goalie in the world, it sure helps (Tampa).

But you also can't have an unreliable guy back there.

Fowler is great because it's unlikely he's gonna be a consistent vezina threat, but he should be a goalie with a lot of wins in his career. Already see it with Laval, he doesn't give the opposition anything more than they take themselves. No extra rebounds. No putting pucks in high danger areas when he can't absorb the shot. Not moving unnecessarily and giving up holes.

 

[jaffy27]

Carey man… all we needed was a half decent GM and coach. What a waste for us.

and would’ve done what exactly?

A dead prospect pool. A 3rd last place finish to entice UFA’s to sign here?



2008-09-10-11 gave us Gallagher….THATS IT!!

Half decent GM’s don’t turn water into wine amigo, you needed the best of the best to make that era happen!!

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

and would’ve done what exactly?

Not hired Therrien
Developed and or trade Galchenyuk
Not played Desharnais as our 1c
Not signed Murray Bouillion
Signed Jagr
Gotten Larry Robinson as assistant coach
Picked an actual direction

You know… common sense stuff.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

and would’ve done what exactly?

A dead prospect pool. A 3rd last place finish to entice UFA’s to sign here?



2008-09-10-11 gave us Gallagher….THATS IT!!

Half decent GM’s don’t turn water into wine amigo, you needed the best of the best to make that era happen!!

A lot of it had to do with ownership too. I remember McGuire who was in the running for the job in 2012 say he wanted to do a rebuild around the young core and Molson didn't want to. There was no direction with those teams

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

There's also a reason why McDavid doesn't have a cup.

You don't need the best goalie in the world, it sure helps (Tampa).

I don't get why people don't understand this.

And btw, if you have the best goalie in the world, at some point you've got a really good shot to make the finals no matter how bad your team is. Hasek, Price, Lundqvist all did it on mediocre to bad clubs.

It's like saying you don't need McDavid to win... of course you don't. But wouldn't you add him if you could?

But you also can't have an unreliable guy back there.

Fowler is great because it's unlikely he's gonna be a consistent vezina threat, but he should be a goalie with a lot of wins in his career. Already see it with Laval, he doesn't give the opposition anything more than they take themselves. No extra rebounds. No putting pucks in high danger areas when he can't absorb the shot. Not moving unnecessarily and giving up holes.

Looks like we've got a stable of at least good goalies here or coming up. Sucks to not have a player like Price but we should make up for it in other areas. There's a lot of depth and if we build the defense properly then Fowler will have far more support than Price ever did.