Should Carey Price’s number be retired?

[BLNY]

2014 might have been the year for him to steal one, but every player with a retired number has a ring. Three goalies with a retired number already. Great career. Hall of Fame career. But no. Not for me.

 

[GrandBison]

Not retiring his number is a reason for future players not to want to come here or stay to create a personal legacy for themselves IMO. If the standard is holding players to the unrealistic standards of our 1980’s and earlier success in a 30-32+ league decades later then what’s the point for guys who care about that? Price did everything he could do here individually and from a team standpoint and got us close. It should be a no brainer. Do you think McDavid isn’t in the rafters if he doesn’t win a cup in Edmonton? Price was on that level in his prime for his generation as a goaltender.

Well, these old guys played for glory without a decent paycheck. I guess few millions in the bank account could compensate young players for their sadness of being losers.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I’m a no for this. I’m not a big fan of it to begin with. Outside of Price’s one huge season in 2014-2015 he just doesn't have the accolades to support it.

1 Vezina
1 3rd place in voting
1 4th place in voting

Yet we talk like he was clearly the best of his generation. The numbers don't support it. I know people will come at me and call me a hater. I don't care why he couldn't do it, but he couldn't win and he was only the best in the league for one year and only top5 4 times.

I don't see how this career belongs in the rafters.

 

[rickthegoon]

Carey Price was a better hockey player than 99% of the players in the rafter. He would rank around 5th or 6th if we don't circle jerk and ignore eras.

He was certainly a better goaltender than Dryden.

I was waiting for your reply forever!!!
I pretty much agree with what you write 90% of the time….. aside from when you go in hyperventilating hyperbole mode when you write about Price.
Once again, you did not disappoint

 

[OldCraig71]

How many former Canadiens have their numbers retired without winning a cup? I don't see it happening unless they do it because of what he meant to the franchise in this era of no cups.

 

[JianYang]

The number of MTl fans pushing for HOF, it's like it's done. Every bad team have his Price , Kovalchuck, Dionne, Sundin and Joe Thornton. It happens, great players who never win the Cup. Ovy have been close to be in that party. They get HOF no problem but the question is when they will be offered a milk chocalate fake SC ring in compensation for playing in a bad team and when it will happen. Cuz the fans won't stop there. The difference between Ilyah Kovalchuck and Carey Price is Illyah have 50 fans speaking for him and Carey Price have 4 millions fans/lawyers speaking for him. They were both rare strong talent and they played both in bad teams.

You are mistaken if you think Habs fans are the only one singing his praises. He was always rated very highly by players playing for other teams.

Tom barasso and Mike Vernon just got in and price can only get in because he played in montreal? You can argue that playing in montreal also hurt him due to the team that was built around him.

I'm on the fence about jersey retirement, but he should and will make the hall of fame, and he will make it based on merit.

 

[ReHabs]

Come on guys the cup or no retirement thing is silly.

Telling me you wouldn't retire Gretzky if he was a Hab and didn't win any cups?

Yeah he had the most career points goals and assists but no cup so no jersey retirement.

There has to be a barometer where the cup win doesn't matter.

Price wasn’t as good as Gretzky. What a silly comment.

I guess price should be blamed for having desharnais as his top center rather than Jean beliveau.

Who said anything about blame?

Every few months this topic comes up and every few months fans of certain players have to be reminded to calm down.

It isn’t an indictment against Price to say he shouldn’t get his number retired.

Do you think McDavid isn’t in the rafters if he doesn’t win a cup in Edmonton? Price was on that level in his prime for his generation as a goaltender.

Price was never as uniquely good or dominant or McDavid. Hope this helps clear that up for you.

 

[JianYang]

Price wasn’t as good as Gretzky. What a silly comment.


Who said anything about blame?

Every few months this topic comes up and every few months fans of certain players have to be reminded to calm down.

It isn’t an indictment against Price to say he shouldn’t get his number retired.


Price was never as uniquely good or dominant or McDavid. Hope this helps clear that up for you.

I'm responding to the notion that he shouldn't even be considered for the hall of fame. I haven't said anything about whether his number should get retired.

I'm also arguing that "no cups, no retirement" argument does not stand as it has too much to do with circumstance. It's devaluing his work for something out of his control.

 

[vokiel]

Can someone in the future outdo him? Of course, so the answer is no. By the time he's no more, I doubt there are any TV specials on his career. I don't think TV remains a thing anyhow...

 

[nhlfan9191]

Price wasn’t as good as Gretzky. What a silly comment.


Who said anything about blame?

Every few months this topic comes up and every few months fans of certain players have to be reminded to calm down.

It isn’t an indictment against Price to say he shouldn’t get his number retired.


Price was never as uniquely good or dominant or McDavid. Hope this helps clear that up for you.

He’s the only goalie since Hasek who had a comparison to the top player the league “Crosby” at his peak. What are you talking about? You need the clearing up.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

But would Dryden and Roy be there if they didn't win a cup? I still think that Price would have win a cup if part of any of the last 10 teams that won the Cup. But that's not an achievement. He's the perfect technical goalie, but that doesn't match the Stanley Cup in my mind. When the players on the ice look up there, they have to know that they need to win it all to be part of those legends.

It’s a totally different league.

Carey Price was the best player in hockey for a short while. Even if it’s only a short period, he owns all the records and was killer in the playoffs.

I don’t think the cup should be a requirement. I do think the HOF is though.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The number of MTl fans pushing for HOF, it's like it's done. Every bad team have his Price , Kovalchuck, Dionne, Sundin and Joe Thornton. It happens, great players who never win the Cup. Ovy have been close to be in that party. They get HOF no problem but the question is when they will be offered a milk chocalate fake SC ring in compensation for playing in a bad team and when it will happen. Cuz the fans won't stop there. The difference between Ilyah Kovalchuck and Carey Price is Illyah have 50 fans speaking for him and Carey Price have 4 millions fans/lawyers speaking for him. They were both rare strong talent and they played both in bad teams.

There’s a lot more difference between Kovalchuk and Price than Just the number of fans they had. Kovalchuk could never elevate bad teams the way Price did.

How many former Canadiens have their numbers retired without winning a cup?

None. But that’s because it was a completely different league.

I don't see it happening unless they do it because of what he meant to the franchise in this era of no cups.

It’d have to be an exceptional player. I think he qualifies.

Can someone in the future outdo him? Of course, so the answer is no. By the time he's no more, I doubt there are any TV specials on his career. I don't think TV remains a thing anyhow...

Can someone in the future outdo Guy Lafleur? Of course.

Does that mean we shouldn’t have retired Lafleur’s jersey? Hell no.

 

[Scintillating10]

He got robbed twice of a Cup. In '14 when Kreider took his knee out. In '21, Tampa allowed extra star player.

 

[Natey]

How do you retire Price but not say... Durnan (even though Plante is retired)?

Dude played 7 years... won the Vezina 6 times, first team all-star 6 times, won the cup 2 times, and a Hall of Famer.

If he didn't have multiple mental breakdowns, he would have been even better too.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

He’s the only goalie since Hasek who had a comparison to the top player the league “Crosby” at his peak. What are you talking about? You need the clearing up.

He won trophies in one season aside from the masterson, one, not two, one. So did Theodore, now I’m not saying Price and Theodore are the same, but no one mistakes Theodore for being as good or on par with Sakic, Jagr, iggy, Naslund and Bertuzzi etc because he won the hart that one year.

He was never in the same league as Crosby. This is what really annoys me and has me arguing against him most of the time. These statements that elevate him way beyond where his quality of play merits. Once, he was the best player in the league for a season, no one ever considered him to be in the same stratosphere as Crosby who will likely go down as the 5th best player in history. Price won’t be talked about as the 5th best goalie in history, nevermind player.

His style was very economical and aesthetically pleasing so many like to overate him. The results don’t match the praise. He is the most overrated Habs player in our history.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

How do you retire Price but not say... Durnan (even though Plante is retired)?

Dude played 7 years... won the Vezina 6 times, first team all-star 6 times, won the cup 2 times, and a Hall of Famer.

If he didn't have multiple mental breakdowns, he would have been even better too.

Durnan was not the best player on his team let alone the best player in the league.

 

[ReHabs]

I'm responding to the notion that he shouldn't even be considered for the hall of fame. I haven't said anything about whether his number should get retired.

So you don’t think he should get his number retired?

I'm also arguing that "no cups, no retirement" argument does not stand as it has too much to do with circumstance. It's devaluing his work for something out of his control.

Well that’s what it is — a circumstantial honour. Every other retired number brought the ultimate trophy to Montreal. Most did it as stars and superstars, some did it as part of a legendary cohort. They gained this honour through their respective circumstances.

He’s the only goalie since Hasek who had a comparison to the top player the league “Crosby” at his peak. What are you talking about? You need the clearing up.

Oh, a comparison okay. Thank you for clearing that up. Price was compared to Crosby at times. Fantastic.

 

[nhlfan9191]

He won trophies in one season aside from the masterson, one, not two, one. So did Theodore, now I’m not saying Price and Theodore are the same, but no one mistakes Theodore for being as good or on par with Sakic, Jagr, iggy, Naslund and Bertuzzi etc because he won the hart that one year.

He was never in the same league as Crosby. This is what really annoys me and has me arguing against him most of the time. These statements that elevate him way beyond where his quality of play merits. Once, he was the best player in the league for a season, no one ever considered him to be in the same stratosphere as Crosby who will likely go down as the 5th best player in history. Price won’t be talked about as the 5th best goalie in history, nevermind player.

His style was very economical and aesthetically pleasing so many like to overate him. The results don’t match the praise. He is the most overrated Habs player in our history.

Theodore won both the Hart and Vezina in a tie breaker with Iginla and Roy and never received another Hart or Vezina vote in another season after that. He also didn’t win the Lindsay(Pearson) that year and was a 2nd team all star. That Jose Theodore season was a one hit wonder or fluke if you want to call it that. Price received Vezina votes in 7 different seasons(top 5 four times), best statistical goaltender by far from 2010-2017 which is a big sample size, going to be a first ballot HOF, was regarded as the best player(not just goalie) over a considerable stretch of time, took us to the SCF on his back with a broken body, was yearly voted the best goalie in the league by his peers over a long stretch of time, etc. Comparing him to Jose Theodore is insulting.

 

[ReHabs]

Comparing him to Jose Theodore is insulting.

Comparing him to Gretzky and Crosby however, is perfectly normal.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Comparing him to Gretzky and Crosby however, is perfectly normal.

Nobody compared him to Gretzky. But for a period of time, however short you may have thought it was, when comparing impact peak to peak he was a comparable to someone like Crosby.

 

[ReHabs]

Nobody compared him to Gretzky. But for a period of time, however short you may have thought it was, when comparing impact peak to peak he was a comparable to someone like Crosby.

There was a comment right up who did precisely that. You didn't make it, but someone who supports retiring Price's number did.

Price was never comparable or compared to Crosby either, for that matter.

There's no conclusion to this topic so we don't need to constantly bicker but I am sure the upcoming period of success will be a lot more joyful than Carey Price's individual Atlas-like attempt to carry the Habs. Not his fault but he doesn't get his number retired for being a bright spot in a dark era. We don't need to immortalize #31 or #11 or #79. There is actually no need whatsoever.

 

[nhlfan9191]

There was a comment right up who did precisely that. You didn't make it, but someone who supports retiring Price's number did.

Price was never comparable or compared to Crosby either, for that matter.

There's no conclusion to this topic so we don't need to constantly bicker but I am sure the upcoming period of success will be a lot more joyful than Carey Price's individual Atlas-like attempt to carry the Habs. Not his fault but he doesn't get his number retired for being a bright spot in a dark era. We don't need to immortalize #31 or #11 or #79. There is actually no need whatsoever.

I’ve never heard of anyone saying Koivu should have his number retired regardless of how liked he was. There’s probably people out there but that’s not realistic. He wasn’t that kind of player. And Markov despite how good he was was never in that conversation either. He finished 6th in Norris a couple of seasons but he was never near the top of his position like Price was. Doesn’t help injuries kept him just shy of 1000 games as well. Neither of those guys will get into the HOF either, much less first ballot. At least Markov won’t for a very long time if ever. And whether you want to admit, coaches, GM’s, and players were the ones anointing him as being worthy of a Crosby comparison. It wasn’t just some media hype job and it did happen. You’re entitled to your opinion but I’ll take the opinions of the guys coaching and playing against him over fans on message board.

 

[ReHabs]

And whether you want to admit, coaches, GM’s, and players were the ones anointing him as being worthy of a Crosby comparison. It wasn’t just some media hype job and it did happen. You’re entitled to your opinion but I’ll take the opinions of the guys coaching and playing against him over fans on message board.

Being worthy of a comparison is a far cry from being The Best Player in Hockey. Additionally, the coaches, GMs, and teammates of other top goalies of Price's era also made similar statements in support of Lundqvist, Quick, Rask, Bobrovsky, Vasilevsky, etc. Price doesn't stand out as peerless until 2014-2015 and that 'peak' is cut short by injury and poor roster planning.

If you look at the '14-'15 through '16-'17 seasons, Price is tops a 0.929 sv% but the next big goalie is Dubnyk with 0.923 and Holtby with 0.923 as well - a marginal difference of a few thousandths of a percentage. Crawford and Bobrovsky and Anderson come in at 0.922/0.921. GAA, Price is tops at 2.09 but Holtby and Dubnyk and Quick are right up there with 2.17 to 2.23, Holtby again is a less than a hundredth away from Price. Price was not tops at SOs and he was only 8th in Ws, with Holtby at #1 in both SOs and Ws. To me, this exercise shows he was at the absolute top of his game on an individual basis as a goalie but definitely comparable to Holtby. Now if you take that same span and look at skaters it's hard to say Price stands out above McDavid, Crosby, or Patrick Kane. Maybe he earns the comparison but the three of them accomplish at least as much or if not more.

Then if you extend the date range Price quickly falls down from his peak and Crosby and McDavid do not. Crosby in 2014 is actually past his prime (pre-neck/concussion injury) and McDavid only starts in '15-'16. .: At no point was Price the best player in hockey.

 

[BLONG7]

The number of MTl fans pushing for HOF, it's like it's done. Every bad team have his Price , Kovalchuck, Dionne, Sundin and Joe Thornton. It happens, great players who never win the Cup. Ovy have been close to be in that party. They get HOF no problem but the question is when they will be offered a milk chocalate fake SC ring in compensation for playing in a bad team and when it will happen. Cuz the fans won't stop there. The difference between Ilyah Kovalchuck and Carey Price is Illyah have 50 fans speaking for him and Carey Price have 4 millions fans/lawyers speaking for him. They were both rare strong talent and they played both in bad teams.

Leaf fans always wanted Price.....I know people who could not believe how lucky the habs were to have selected him. Price has many many fans......not just habs fans.

Players around the league, well we all know how they felt. Then there were the comments over and over the habs have nothing but CP31 which for years was true.....great goalie at the wrong time.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Theodore won both the Hart and Vezina in a tie breaker with Iginla and Roy and never received another Hart or Vezina vote in another season after that. He also didn’t win the Lindsay(Pearson) that year and was a 2nd team all star. That Jose Theodore season was a one hit wonder or fluke if you want to call it that. Price received Vezina votes in 7 different seasons(top 5 four times), best statistical goaltender by far from 2010-2017 which is a big sample size, going to be a first ballot HOF, was regarded as the best player(not just goalie) over a considerable stretch of time, took us to the SCF on his back with a broken body, was yearly voted the best goalie in the league by his peers over a long stretch of time, etc. Comparing him to Jose Theodore is insulting.

He was regarded as the best player by this board maybe, not much anywhere else. The proof is in the pudding. He won the vezina once. The overwhelming majority of the time there was a better goalie in any particular year. He didn't separate himself from the pack. He was an excellent goalie, in unfortunate circumstances who doesn't have the hardware to support a jersey retirement. HOF, sure, in the rafters, not a chance.