Carey Price, Montreal Canadens. Seattle Kraken. (Photo by Kristina Servant, via Flickr)
Honestly, this article was supposed to follow another Habs first-round playoff exit. But after they disposed of the favored Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games and swept the Winnipeg Jets, this love letter to Carey Price is hard to write. But now, he may have more fans from north of the border.
Montreal was the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup in 1993. Half of that time has been the entire length of goaltender Carey Price’s 14-year NHL career. After defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and now heading to the Final, the only way Price comes home to the Seattle Kraken is by hoisting the cup for Montreal.
BC’s own Carey Price is one of the most talented and respected netminders in the league. But until 2021, his teams have missed the NHL playoffs or lost in the first round for almost a decade. The closest Price had been to a Cup Final before now was in 2014. Rangers’ winger Chris Kreider collided with the goaltender and ended his playoff run. Carey’s early exit led to New York winning the Eastern Conference Finals and prolonged his wait.
Carey Price was selected seventh overall by Washington State’s Tri-City Americans in the 2002 bantam draft. After two seasons, he had the best North-American goaltender ranking for the 2005 NHL Draft. Following Sidney Crosby in the top spot, Price was chosen 5th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. After winning the 2007 Calder Cup, he also won his Habs debut later that year against Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Since then, Carey Price has a career 2.50 goals against average, a .917 save percentage, and 49 shutouts while being named to six NHL all-star teams. A winner of four NHL Awards, he has played 794 games with the same team.
The biggest obstacles to Carey Price becoming a Seattle Kraken are his no-move clause and a wealthy contract. Just like Calgary’s Milan Lucic recently announced, only a player can waive or amend contract clauses to allow trade scenarios. Carey’s contract is a long one ending in 2026 but worthy of such a talented player. Next year, he will make a base salary of $2M plus an $11M signing bonus.
If Montreal takes care of those bonuses in trade, a number around six or seven million per year is more palatable for the Seattle Kraken to take on. And contract restructuring is also a possibility, with potential Pacific Northwest endorsements or other incentives by the new franchise.
Regardless of these obstacles over the next 26 days, here are three reasons why Seattle and Carey are good for each other:
One thing that is constant about this part of North America is the love of native heritage. There may be plenty of ducks to go with the fish and trees around Carey Price’s hometown of Anahim Lake, but it’s nowhere near Southern California. A partial descendant of the Nuxalk and South Carrier First Nations, his British Columbia home is approximately 241 miles north of Vancouver.
During his junior career with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, Price met his future wife, Angela, from nearby Kennewick, Washington. After marriage, his off-season home has become Kelowna in the Okanagan of British Columbia.
After living in every corner of the US, I’ve never seen a geographic area prouder of being home-grown than Seattle. Outside the city, Carey Price’s love of the great outdoors would be a common bond with rural fans across the Pacific Northwest.
A good team is first built from the goalie position. And no name in the pool of suggested Kraken candidates comes close to Carey Price. An Olympic Gold Medalist, he also became the only NHL netminder to win four league awards in the same year. Additionally, Price only has three losing seasons in 14 with the Canadiens, and almost 10 percent of his playoff games have been shutout wins.
In my opinion, he’s the only choice to be Seattle Kraken’s first starter. Khudobin is now a rising star in Dallas after years as a career backup. Local podcasters are considering Jake Allen, but the eight-year pro has played well for Montreal since joining them last September. Boston’s Tuukka Rask is a free agent, but his Finnish family ties are in the opposite global direction. And if anyone wants to know what a successful veteran netminder looks like after moving to a brand new team? Well, it happened only four years ago.
Being the original face of a franchise is a big deal. And this is almost a carbon copy of the last expansion draft. In 2017, Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury spent his first 13 seasons in Pittsburgh before moving to the West Coast. The biggest difference is winning the Stanley Cup, with Fleury hoisting it in 2009, 2016, and 2017. The biggest similarity is age, as Carey is 33 and the same age as Marc-Andre during his expansion draft adventure. Since then, Fleury took Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final, was selected as an all-star, and improved his career goals against average and save percentage.
Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t expect to be the face of a franchise when he initially went to Nevada, but after four years, he could easily run for office now. He’s as Canadian as it gets- but a high level of play, welcoming demeanor, family values, and charity efforts have made him irresistible to Vegas fans. Carey Price is more private towards the public eye but echoes Fleury’s assets. He could be a Seattle Kraken franchise cornerstone for decades to come.
With the Seattle Kraken expansion draft happening July 21st, it seems like the tide is high for a fresh start. Soon it will be Carey’s choice if the Kraken get a chance. Bringing in number 31 for the league’s 32nd team would give a solid foundation for the future of NHL hockey in Seattle. And for now, Go Habs. ⚓