Habs fans have an emotional connection so I get it. When you look at empirical evidence though that’s what is said. From 2017-2022 he is a below average regular season goalie.
Speculation: What happens with Carey Price?
- Thread starter LEAFANFORLIFE23
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Guess
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I think it doesn't really matter what most people here say about Price's ability, the fact is that the NHL players have consistently said he is the hardest goaltender to face.
Whether that remains the case in the past few years is up for debate since he's been injured so much.
Whether that remains the case in the past few years is up for debate since he's been injured so much.
Top four teams in each division made the playoffs. How is that 'special'? You're grasping for excuses now.
How does his last few "Pretty good", or "So-so", or "Okay", or "Average" regular seasons make his playoffs anything but elite?
Moving forward, this is true. We agree it doesn't change the opinions of the most credible people – players, coaches, GMs – on Price's value to date.
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IWantSakicAsMyGM
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It's completely different than how things normally are, which is literally the definition of the word special. Every team only played against the teams in their division, there were no wildcard teams, and as a result, the 18th best team in the NHL (and 10th best in the usual East) was gifted a playoff spot. The year before that, when covid shut everything down, the Habs were 12th in the East, and still got gifted playoff games. What part of that would happen during a normal season?
Please quote my post where you believe I said his playoff numbers aren't elite. Or, even better, explain how his 38 playoff games (only 6 of which were legitimately earned without special rules) matter more than the 261 mediocre regular season games. It's great that he went on hot streak when his team needed him, but sample sizes matter.
RickyLafleur
Fall of Pierre
IWantSakicAsMyGM
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Of the 58 NHL goalies to play at least 100 NHL games over the last 5 years, Price is 28th in SV with a 0.912, which means he's essentially tied for the median SV%. So he's exactly average, not below average. But, it still makes it extremely difficult to give up a big return for the right to pay him $5.25m for the next 4 years, no matter how well he's played in 38 playoff games.
They Cinderella their way into the finals but when the clock stuck 12.00 the true team showed up .
The only thing 'special' about 2021 was each division played against each other. There was nothing special about the Canadian division – or any division – other than it was a different configuration of teams. Divisions have been reconfigured multiple times throughout hockey history.
It's a fairy-tale to believe a team was 'gifted' a playoff spot. The top-4 was the cutoff for playoffs for decades; it was again in 2021. There was no "18th best" – in fact, there was no legit league ranking at all (other than for drafting purposes). Each division played against different competition. You can't compare teams that never played each other and gathered points against totally different competition. That's like comparing NHL teams to KHL teams based on their point totals. It's irrelevant.
Montreal earned a playoff spot and a SCF appearance. Period. Price was their best player,
Forgot about this post? Or are you going to throw more excuses at straightforward numbers?
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"Cinderella", "Fluke" – lame excuses to avoid reality. NHL playoffs are the most gruelling in all sports; no team gets all the way to the SCF without earning every inch.
IWantSakicAsMyGM
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So, they completely changed the format for the regular season, changed all the divisions and how the playoffs work, and you want to pretend that this is just another normal season, no different than any other? Really?
The top-4 hasn't been the cutoff for the playoffs in almost 30 years. Returning to that format for a single season, due to a global pandemic, is, by definition, a special rule.
And I can't find a single time in NHL history, other than last year, when the divisions were completely separate mini-leagues that didn't play against each other until the 3rd round of the playoffs. Seems like that's a special rule too.
But, given that you want to pretend that Price is special and deserves to be viewed as elite based on a 38 playoff game sample where he made it further than expected in a single run (but still didn't win the Cup), I'm not surprised that you want to also pretend that you didn't need the special rules to "earn" that playoff spot.
And, what excuse do you think I'm making by pointing out that Khudobin isn't special, despite taking Dallas to the Finals? Seems extremely relevant, given what you're claiming about Price...
byrath
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I question just how much validity there is to the idea of a goalie being better in the playoffs. It makes sense with other players as the game is played a bit differently vs. a regular season game, but I'm not seeing how the game would feel much different from a goalies POV.
Not trashing Price here. I do put quite a bit of stock in media/players/coaches almost unanimously calling him the best goalie for the past 10 years.
Not trashing Price here. I do put quite a bit of stock in media/players/coaches almost unanimously calling him the best goalie for the past 10 years.
Pucklington
Zum Bäcker.
Pizza!Pizza!
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- Sep 25, 2018
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If anyone were to take the gamble on a player like Price with that contract it would be Ken Holland. Ironically, if that trade were to happen in the offseason and Price were to win a cup with EDM, fans would still bitch and blame Holland for being in 'cap hell' on the back end of the contract.
What is it you don't understand? All four divisions had the same rules - top-4 teams made the playoffs. There was no 'special' rule implemented just for Montreal's benefit.
And as you acknowledged, having a top-4 playoff cutoff is nothing new in the NHL. Just like having different combinations of teams in each division is nothing new. The only difference with 2021, obviously, is each division only played internally, which is precisely why there is no legitimate way to rank teams overall. There was no 'overall'.
You're simply looking for excuses to avoid straightforward facts, which contradict your original comment that Price only had a single strong playoffs. He was the top playoff goalie in the past 5 years and among the top goalies in the past 10 years (check that yourself if you want).
IWantSakicAsMyGM
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Were the rules the same as any other season in the last 20 years? Did the changes continue for more than a single season? If not, then they were special rules for the pandemic. And, it's pretty clear that these special covid rules are the biggest/only reason Montreal got to play in playoff games. No one is saying the league intended to help Montreal, but Montreal definitely benefited the most from the rules changes.
Do you think anyone outside of Montreal would pick Price over Vasi for a playoff run if given the chance? Or are you trying to pretend that having a great SV% while losing is somehow better than 2 Cups and a Conn Smythe?
Lol... another story to avoid the facts. What in the world does Vasilevskiy have to do with this? You're really grasping dude...
Let me guess - all of Price's saves were easier because Covid slowed down the puck.
19-20 season Montreal doesn’t make the playoffs if it weren’t for the play in series. They were 12th in their conference in points % and they weren’t catching back up.
20-21 season they only make it due to the 4/4 format. If it was 3/3/2 they would only make it if the north was paired with the west division.
Price has had very mediocre regular season numbers. If you can’t rely on your goalie to get you to the playoffs, it doesn’t matter that much how great he can play in the playoffs
20-21 season they only make it due to the 4/4 format. If it was 3/3/2 they would only make it if the north was paired with the west division.
Price has had very mediocre regular season numbers. If you can’t rely on your goalie to get you to the playoffs, it doesn’t matter that much how great he can play in the playoffs
CanadienShark
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Hardly a fluke. Unlikely, sure, but not a fluke by any stretch of the imagination. Nice try.
RangerBoy
Dolan sucks!!!
IWantSakicAsMyGM
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You claimed that Price is "the top playoff goalie in the past 5 years". Vasi has 2 Cups and a Conn Smythe. Do you honestly think Price is a better playoff performer than Vasi?
Lol... putting quotation marks around something I never said.
I posted straightforward numbers from NHL.com from the past 5 years. If you don't like the results, I suggest you email the NHL and argue with the statisticians.
Tavares will.be back. Marner is going nowhere. Pm may get the boot. Muzzin traded.
Which is why it’s so oddly and conspicuously weird Habs fans are always starting threads to trade Price. If they love and have this emotional connection to Price no other fan base appreciates, why this intense desire to trade Price? How is the option, Price plays out his contract in Montreal so obnoxious and toxic to the Habs fan base.
I suspect it’s the same reason you do. Price is a pretty bad regular season goalie. And his play has eroded quite a bit as he has hit his mid 30s. No team wants to spend $5.25mm + per year to get 90% save percentage play with injury and addiction concerns. And hope that his indifference and lousy regular season play somehow becomes great in the playoffs. Assuming he even gets you there. What a stupid risk to take for another franchise.
The solution is so freaking obvious. Price stays in Montreal for the balance of his contract.
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