Carey Price showing he'll never be an all-time great of his generation

[ted2019]

I think that Carey Price has already cemented himself as one of the great goalies of his generation.

I'm really not sure what Henrik Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne have done that put them on a higher tier than Price...

Vezina Voting:
Price: 1,3,4,5
Lundqvist: 1,2,3,3,3,4,5
Rinne: 1,2,2,3

Hart Trophy:
Price: 1,7
Lundqvist: 3,9
Rinne: 4,7,8

AS Voting:
Price: 1,3,4,4,5
Lundqvist: 1,2,4,5
Rinne: 1,2,3,3

 

[nbwingsfan]

I think that Carey Price has already cemented himself as one of the great goalies of his generation.

I'm really not sure what Henrik Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne have done that put them on a higher tier than Price...

Price had a great 3 year run. Hes been very, very average every season other than that and has not had a great playoff run in his career.

 

[The Macho King]

He never had the makings of a Varsity athlete.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Were those Rangers rosters really THAT good though? He never had a true #1 center for starters.

I mean, yeah, they were pretty good. Pretty consistently among the better teams in the east. Definitely managed better than the Canadiens. Price had to carry a lot of those Montreal teams on his back.

 

[JimmyG89]

Maybe he should have done that to Emelin in practice, he would have been able to go.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Price has not had near the quality of teams that the other two have had. I'm not saying that Price is better than either of them. I just don't see those two as head and shoulders above Price. The Habs have been pretty poorly managed over Price's career.

Rangers and Nashville never had powerhouse teams...

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Rangers and Nashville never had powerhouse teams...

They were pretty consistently stronger, and better managed, than most of the Canadiens teams that were playing in front of Carey Price.

 

[nbwingsfan]

They were pretty consistently stronger, and better managed, than most of the Canadiens teams that were playing in front of Carey Price.

Pretty debatable. The Nashville teams especially were devoid of any kind of star talent.

 

[amnesiac]

Price has not had near the quality of teams that the other two have had. I'm not saying that Price is better than either of them. I just don't see those two as head and shoulders above Price. The Habs have been pretty poorly managed over Price's career.

Habs were 1st in their divison 3 times from 2012-13 to 16-17, Rangers never faired much better

 

[deckercky]

I'd argue that the main difference between the Canadiens rosters and the Rangers rosters is that Lundqvist was better.

 

[BlackAdam]

Maybe he should have done that to Emelin in practice, he would have been able to go.

Even that year they played the Rangers in Eastern final, i don't see the Habs beating them even if Price didn't go down.
Lot of people were quick to blame Kreider saying "It was our year" but the same problems in that series existed as they did every year.
The Habs could not score goals. I remember Tokarski actually playing great in that series. Aside from the 7 they gave up in game 1, most of the other games, the Rangers just squeeked by.

Then when they had a healthy Price the following season Tampa Bay absolutely demolished them in the regular season and playoffs.

 

[SI90]

Lundqvist's consistency >>>>> Price one year peak.

Even if that one year was one of the greatest calendar years any athlete has ever had.

When Lundqvist was Price's age he had a 2.25 GAA and .920 SV%.

Price hasn't had those numbers since the 2016-17 season.

is this really a debate among people? I’m an isles fan and Rangers hater and I take Lundqvist career over price every day no question.


Look at their playoff numbers and it’s even more laughable. Lundqvist was the superior goalie.

 

[amnesiac]

I mean, yeah, they were pretty good. Pretty consistently among the better teams in the east. Definitely managed better than the Canadiens. Price had to carry a lot of those Montreal teams on his back.

both Habs and Rangers each had 5 season over .600 winning % during their respective careers.... to say the Rangers were that much better is stretching it. You could argue Price's best years were played in more defensive systems under Therien and Julien, and were really only talking about 3-4 really good seasons. Lunqvist has had about 7 or 8.

I mean the Vezina voting isnt even close, this really isnt a debate.

 

[Realgud]

They were pretty consistently stronger, and better managed, than most of the Canadiens teams that were playing in front of Carey Price.

Always the same excuses with Price...

Freakin Jonathan Bernier is having similar performances on vastly worse teams... yet I don't see him in contention for the title of "the best goalie in the world".

Jaroslav Halak completely outplayed Price every year on the same "AHL" teams when he was there...

When do the excuses end for "the best goalie in the world"? Do we need to wait another 10+ years to see some results?

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Habs were 1st in their divison 3 times from 2012-13 to 16-17, Rangers never faired much better

from 2011-12 to 16-17 finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st (president's trophy), 3rd (101 pts), 4th (102 pts). They were pretty strong teams as well. I'm not sure even what the point of this discussion is. I don't see how any of that even invalidates my original point that Price doesn't belong in a tier with Bobrovsky and Holtby. If anything Lundqvist moves up a tier and Price stays with the likes of Rinne, Rask, and (maybe) Fleury.

 

[Godzilla]

We've been seeing the beginning of the decline of a very good goalie in Carey Price for the last few years, but now we are truly seeing where this may end up going. It won't be pretty, but it typically isn't.

Price was touted as the perfect goalie prospect. And while he has had some highs, he clearly never reached the all time great status. He'll never be on a level with the best of this generation of goalies.

Goalies like Henrik Lundqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tuukka Rask, and Pekka Rinna are the cream of the crop over the last 15 years. He's just never sustained the level of play long enough to be in this group.

He's beginning to be in a group with guys like Braden Holtby, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Jonathan Quick. Guys that had too short of a peak to be more than very good.

The one time you thought he would have his chance in 2014, and his own player went and took him out of the series, it was such a shame. He's never had a chance since then, and some of that lays at his own feet.

Maybe he can have another run in him, but this is looking more of the beginning of the end than a blip on the radar.

To be fair, all of the goalies you mentioned actually had good teams in front of them. When was the last time Price had that luxury?

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Always the same excuses with Price...

Freakin Jonathan Bernier is having similar performances on vastly worse teams... yet I don't see him in contention for the title of "the best goalie in the world".

Jaroslav Halak completely outplayed Price every year on the same "AHL" teams when he was there...

When do the excuses end for "the best goalie in the world"? Do we need to wait another 10+ years to see some results?

I don't really care for Price one way or the other, as a person or as a player, why would I want to make excuses for him?

I said over his career he's been among the best of his generation, far cry from "best goalie in the world".

 

[OscarsCards]

It seems these price is the best ever threads and comments will never end for a lot of people.

It's funny because he never has been the best ever so the time has come to stop and open or eyes for once.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

both Habs and Rangers each had 5 season over .600 winning % during their respective careers.... to say the Rangers were that much better is stretching it. You could argue Price's best years were played in more defensive systems under Therien and Julien, and were really only talking about 3-4 really good seasons. Lunqvist has had about 7 or 8.

I mean the Vezina voting isnt even close, this really isnt a debate.

I don't know why this is turning into a debate of whether Price is better than Lundqvist. I just didn't agree with OP that Price should be in a tier with Bobrovsky/Holtby rather than Rinne, Lundqvist, Rask. As I said in other comments, if anything Lundqvist should get bumped up a tier rather than Price dropping.

 

[Weztex]

Price had a great 3 year run. Hes been very, very average every season other than that and has not had a great playoff run in his career.

If we go by awards voting, Price getting injured in 3 of his prime years is probably skewing (and screwing) his legacy a bit. But his prime certainly extended over more than 3 year.

2010-11 to 2016-17 (7 seasons)

Rk	Player	SV%	Tm	Pos	From	To	Active	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	GAA	SO	MIN
1	Tim Thomas	.923	TOT	G	2010	2014	3	164	155	88	54	14	372	4860	4488	2.38	14	9379
2	Carey Price	.923	MTL	G	2010	2017	7	375	372	210	127	37	848	11019	10171	2.29	35	22246
3	Cory Schneider	.923	TOT	G	2010	2017	7	320	308	142	119	45	693	8961	8268	2.26	23	18427
4	Cam Talbot	.922	TOT	G	2013	2017	4	186	179	96	64	18	418	5363	4945	2.32	18	10823
5	Braden Holtby	.922	WSH	G	2010	2017	7	307	299	191	73	31	678	8658	7980	2.31	32	17610
6	Tuukka Rask	.922	BOS	G	2010	2017	7	345	333	179	110	42	750	9583	8833	2.27	32	19794
7	Henrik Lundqvist	.921	NYR	G	2010	2017	7	404	399	228	139	32	914	11641	10727	2.31	37	23746
8	Roberto Luongo	.920	TOT	G	2010	2017	7	354	348	183	111	49	816	10231	9415	2.37	22	20628
9	Sergei Bobrovsky	.920	TOT	G	2010	2017	7	330	320	181	107	30	771	9614	8843	2.45	19	18902
10	Ben Bishop	.919	TOT	G	2010	2017	7	264	254	147	79	24	581	7202	6621	2.31	19	15074

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[deckercky]

I don't think Price's peak is actually any better than Luongo from 2003-4 to 2006-7.

 

[Ducer]

When price play's his last game they can let him skate around the rink with his vezina over his head because at 10.5 a year it's never gonna be a stanley cup for montreal.

 

[dukeofjive]

I am still sad that mtl could have picked anze kopitar in the same draft... oh and f*** bargain bin

 

[Kimota]

He was one of the best of his generation but things don't last. I remember when Lafleur hit the 30s, he slumped pretty fast and never was the same. And I think it's more difficult for goalies to keep being elite. I don't know if it's physical or mental whatever but I think if we look at goalies in the NHL overall, the line between elite and good is pretty thin so if you lose a bit of a step suddenly you're average.

 

[libertarian]

I believe that a healthy Carey Price is one of the greatest goalies ever to play in the NHL. 2 years ago when the Habs gave Price his big contract I commented that this was a mistake. because Carey's injuries have diminished him to the point he is no longer a goalie you can count on. I got a lot of flack from Hab fans for this opinion but it has turned out to be correct.