Was Carey Price a good pick?

[Ducks in a row]

Yes. Look what he did for the Habs earlier in his career; Those teams he dragged on those deep playoff runs frankly had no business being there, Price just shut opposing teams down.

He only tended them to 1 conference finals not what I would call dragging his team to deep playoff runs.

 

[Sojourn]

JQuick might argue that point.

He might, but I don't think he has a very good argument. Not if we're looking at individual accomplishments.

I think what Price did in 2015 was a higher peak than any individual season Quick has put together. That's not a knock on Quick. He's just had a lot more to work with, on the team level. If Price had carried his team to a Cup in 2015, it would probably have gone down as one of the greatest all-time performances by a goaltender in NHL history. As it is, that regular season is already up there.

Winning a Hart is a massive accomplishment for any player, but it's traditionally an award that forwards win. That really emphasizes what Price had to do to be the one to win it in 2015. And he was voted best player by his peers. This to go with the Vezina and Jennings he won that season. He won every award a goaltender could win in the regular season that year.

 

[NoName]

He only tended them to 1 conference finals not what I would call dragging his team to deep playoff runs.

In addition to that run to the conference finals, there were multiple trips to the second round, often in teams that had no business being there (the 2015 team comes to mind with his 0.939 sv%).

Look, the guy has Vezina a Lindsey a Jennings and a freaking Hart trophy and strong numbers throughout his prime. At the international level he backstopped gold-medal winning Team Canadas at the Olympics, World Cup and World Juniors. Obviously he was worth a first tound pick, to argue otherwise is nonsensical.

I am absolutely not a Habs fan here (indeed their current predicament inspires more then a bit of schadenfreude in me), but give credit where credit is due: up until last season Price was one of the absolute best goalies of his generation. That more then validates the Habs decision to pick him in the first round.

 

[BBB24]

Yes he did, in 2014.

And who said anything about his current contract, this thread is about whether he was justified as a first round pick, which I continue to maintain he absolutely was.

He has never won a conference final. Yes he definitely is worthy of a first round pick no doubt. But the constant excuses about the team in front of him are just that excuses, Halak got further thanks Price with the same team. Theodore won a hart and Vezina, they compare well.

 

[LeftHeartInSF]

In addition to that run to the conference finals, there were multiple trips to the second round, often in teams that had no business being there (the 2015 team comes to mind with his 0.939 sv%).

Look, the guy has Vezina a Lindsey a Jennings and a freaking Hart trophy and strong numbers throughout his prime. At the international level he backstopped gold-medal winning Team Canadas at the Olympics, World Cup and World Juniors. Obviously he was worth a first tound pick, to argue otherwise is nonsensical.

I am absolutely not a Habs fan here (indeed their current predicament inspires more then a bit of schadenfreude in me), but give credit where credit is due: up until last season Price was one of the absolute best goalies of his generation. That more then validates the Habs decision to pick him in the first round.

In his defense argument, Quick pulls a Roy and says he can't hear you, his 2 rings are plugging his ears

 

[Maplebeasts]

Yes. Being an elite level goalie for large stretches of your career and winning a hart trophy is a good use of a fifth pick.

 

[Ducks in a row]

In addition to that run to the conference finals, there were multiple trips to the second round, often in teams that had no business being there (the 2015 team comes to mind with his 0.939 sv%).

Look, the guy has Vezina a Lindsey a Jennings and a freaking Hart trophy and strong numbers throughout his prime. At the international level he backstopped gold-medal winning Team Canadas at the Olympics, World Cup and World Juniors. Obviously he was worth a first tound pick, to argue otherwise is nonsensical.

I am absolutely not a Habs fan here (indeed their current predicament inspires more then a bit of schadenfreude in me), but give credit where credit is due: up until last season Price was one of the absolute best goalies of his generation. That more then validates the Habs decision to pick him in the first round.

Making it to round 2 isn't a deep run. Only 1 deep run with him leading the way.

 

[Syckle78]

I think Montreal would of had more sustained success with kopitar and keeping halak. But that is the only other alternative for that pick and he is a great player so yea it was a good pick.

 

[Koivu11]

I just remember thinking it was fishy that the Habs wound up with the 5th pick in that lottery anyway, they'd been in the playoffs two of the previous 3 years, advancing to the 2nd round both times, but somehow all the oddly defined conditions for the 2005 lottery let them get top 10 odds?

That’s what happens when you have a lottery. Look at the Canes in the last one. Some teams get lucky.

 

[JianYang]

One thing people dont talk about enough in regards to Price's career is his injury prone status.

He was unable to finish the season because of injuries in 2012, 13, 14, and 16.

He also had a quite a setback after his 09 injury, and also missed significant time in other seasons including just recently in 2017-2018.

In reality, we have barely seen him play on a long stretch of full health. Even that mvp season, he couldn't finish the season after krieder went into him skates first.

 

[sharks9]

Yes, absolutely. Picking a goalie who wins the Hart, Vezina, Lindsay and a gold medal is a good pick.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

Why does this thread still exist. He went 5th overall and at worst is the 3rd best player from the draft.

 

[Intense]

wasn't a bad one !

 

[KaseMeOutside]

When you have 13 years of hindsight and there's ONE guy taken in his neighborhood who/is better, then you know it was an excellent pick. And Kopitar was a risky pick, at least from an establishment standpoint, even though now it looks insane that he fell to 11.

Montreal, and every team really, are going to have some draft pick regrets, but taking the future Vezina and Hart winning goaltender Carey Price at five is not one of them.

As someone mentioned up-thread, I doubt Pittsburgh regrets drafting Fleury at No. 1. That would be a more interesting question though.

It's not hindsight, it's about how we value goalies at the draft

 

[rfournier103]

This Bruins fan thinks Carey Price was the best draft pick the Canadiens have made in some time. Habitually give the Bruins fits.

Great pick. I wish he played for someone else.

 

[Price is Wright]

This Bruins fan thinks Carey Price was the best draft pick the Canadiens have made in some time. Habitually give the Bruins fits.

Great pick. I wish he played for someone else.

Give it a year.

 

[blundluntman]

Was an elite vezina/hart winner that's carried an abysmal defensive team for multiple seasons a good pick? Golly gee I wonder...

 

[leburn98]

I think you can be of two minds here. On one hand, Price is without question a fantastic pick given his body of work. If the question is, was Carey Price worth the 5th overall draft pick? The answer is absolutely. However, we do have hindsight and with hindsight, I feel like another question could be asked. Was Price actually a great pick for the Habs?

I think an argument could be made that having an elite goaltender like Carey Price has damaged the Habs more than it has helped them over the years. Price has been able to mask the flaws, some major, the Habs have had for so many years. As a result, many if not all of those flaws continue to be flaws today. Far too often among my Habs friends it was:

"We can't score? Who cares we have Carey Price."
"We can't defend? Who cares we have Carey Price."

All too often Carey Price made the Habs appear to be a better team then they actually were. Now just image what could have been had the Habs missed the playoffs during the seasons where Price carried the team with Vezina/MVP like seasons. How many top 10 draft picks would they have been able to stock in the cupboard. Now of course, management has a lot to do with it. I would argue that the Habs scouting has been abysmal for nearly a decade. If you have a goalie that is basically going to keep you out of the top 10 of the draft year after year, then your scouting better find a few diamonds in the later rounds.

 

[NoName]

Making it to round 2 isn't a deep run. Only 1 deep run with him leading the way.

Multiple second tound trips and a run to the conference finals (first you justified him being a bad pick by never reaching the conference finals, then when he did, the goal-posts seem to mysteriously shift) is indeed a run of playoff sucess both for a team and for Price himself who did absolutely drag an offensively anemic Montreal to victories there several of those seasons. He has put up solid career numbers, he has won a ton of trophies including the Hart and, he has taken the Habs on playoff runs. In what world does this not justify him being picked by Montreal in the first round?

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Carey Price's achievements:

Multiple honours

• Molson Cup for Montreal Canadiens: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
• NHL All-Star Game: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018

2007

• IIHF World U20 Championship Gold Medal (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)
• Tournament MVP (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
• Del Wilson Trophy (WHL Top Goaltender)
• WHL West First All-Star Team for 2006–07 WHL season
• CHL Goaltender of the Year Award
• Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs
• Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (Calder Cup MVP)

2008

• NHL All-Rookie Team for 2007–08 NHL season

2009

• NHL YoungStars Game at 2009 NHL All-Star Game

2014

• Olympic Gold Medal in Men's Hockey at 2014 Sochi Olympics
• Best Goaltender at 2014 Sochi Olympics (voted by IIHF)

2015

• William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed)
• Vezina Trophy (best goaltender)
• Ted Lindsay Award (most valuable player, voted by NHL Players Association)
• Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player, voted by Professional Hockey Writer's Association)
• NHL First All-Star Team (voted by Professional Hockey Writer's Association)
• Lou Marsh Trophy (Canada's Top Athlete voted by a panel of journalists)
• Lionel Conacher Award (selected by sports writers of the Canadian Press)
• Hart Memorial Trophy (received in 2015 playing for the Montreal Canadiens)

2016

• Indspire Award (Sports)
• 2016 World Cup of Hockey Gold medal

Yep terrible pick...

 

[holy]

He'll be a good pick when he lifts the cup over his head this year.

 

[BatVader]

Carey Price was a good pick..... Marc Bergevin was not!

 

[Ducks in a row]

Multiple second tound trips and a run to the conference finals (first you justified him being a bad pick by never reaching the conference finals, then when he did, the goal-posts seem to mysteriously shift) is indeed a run of playoff sucess both for a team and for Price himself who did absolutely drag an offensively anemic Montreal to victories there several of those seasons. He has put up solid career numbers, he has won a ton of trophies including the Hart and, he has taken the Habs on playoff runs. In what world does this not justify him being picked by Montreal in the first round?

I have made just two posts in this thread before this one and they are as followed

He only tended them to 1 conference finals not what I would call dragging his team to deep playoff runs.

Making it to round 2 isn't a deep run. Only 1 deep run with him leading the way.

So I never said he was a bad pick and I never said he shouldn't of been picked in round 1. No goal-posts have been moved by me. Winning just 1 round isn't a deep playoff run you need to reach the conference finals for it to be a deep run.

 

[General Disarray]

Yes he did, in 2014.

And who said anything about his current contract, this thread is about whether he was justified as a first round pick, which I continue to maintain he absolutely was.

You're right the contract is irrelevant; that's on management. But I think the question is was he a good pick at #5, not whether he was a first rounder.

 

[BLONG7]

So alot of people are of the mindset that you don't use a high pick on a goalie(is the goalie bust rate really even higher than other positions?) A Popular theory now is taking at least one goalie per draft outside the first round and playing the numbers game

Price had some MVP level years and not so great years, 2005 was an ok draft. Tuuka Rask was taken 16 picks later.

If a goalie of his caliber came along now where would he go?

It really would depend on the team. Going in the top 5 made sense then, and would make sense now...the Habs have struggles in recent years to put a team out in front of him...