Will Carey Price ever be the #1 goalie in the NHL again?

[ViD]

Granted he’s locked to a humongous contract and the Habs are in a bad shape and will continue for 2-3 more years at least...

Will he?

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[winnipegger]

Will it be sunny next month? I have no f***ing idea.

 

[Critical13]

He still has the talent, I don't see why not. Too early to count Carey out.

 

[895]

No.

Too many good new goalies. Price is coming off a major injury and getting older. Montreal isn't good enough to help him out either, so his GAA will balloon.

 

[CanadienShark]

Yeah, I think he's got at least a few more seasons of very elite play in him.

 

[Bonesy9]

He is a great goalie and personally I do not think goalies this year were far ahead of what an average season for him is. I expect him to be at the top again.

 

[rent free]

Probably not. Seems unlikely.

 

[bobholly39]

He seems to have struggled greatly mentally recently more than anything else. If he can get his shit together this year I'd say there's great chance he's back to being a Hart candidate.

So yes.

 

[rhinoshawarma]

He's 30 years old, which is not old for goalies at all. Even Lundqvist had his best seasons at 30-32, Brodeur as well... the list goes on.

Talent is there, he will resurge without a doubt

 

[Crazy Cizikas]

I think we’ve seen the best of Price. I’m skeptical that he’ll reach greatness again.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

He still has the talent, I don't see why not. Too early to count Carey out.

He should be able to do this. Probably. Maybe. I'm not going to bet my house on it or anything. Goalie is such a mental position... I wonder if he'll be entirely ok with the team's stated mandate to rebuild or whatever, though. It's not going to be an easy road for him either way. But he's got the chops to do it if anybody does.

 

[CraigsList]

It all depends on the team that plays in front of him. Personally, I think his elite days in Montreal are done unless they miraculously make some solid moves this offseason. And even that is saying a bit much.

 

[Peiskos]

Yes, but only if he gets traded to a better team. Price was always the entire Habs team and without him they were always nothing. We've all witnessed how quickly Montreal tumbled down the standings when he got injured. But Montreal is just so bad right now that not even Price can save them.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

He can be just as good as before. The question that wannabe GMs should ask though, is whether the Habs should have dealt Price when a year or so ago. Got assets in return an then sign another goalie cheaper though not as good as Price.

 

[bukwas]

As mentioned i have a feeling the circumstance he currently finds himself in will prevent it. On a few other teams i believe he could.

 

[Scotty Pucks]

Holtby is the best goalie in hockey now.

 

[Tripod]

Yes.

Do people really think he can't be better than Helle, Rinne or Vas?

 

[Fataldogg]

Holtby is the best goalie in hockey now.

No, just... no.

And I like Holtby and the Capitals. I got my Holtby merchandise.

He has always been a top 10 goaltender, and top 3 in his better seasons.

He was just too bad during the regular season to be considered the best. Team suffered defensively in regular season and it showed in his numbers. Then Grubauer outplayed him. His playoff numbers were solid but nothing otherworldly [and his numbers were expected to improve with much better defensive play in front of him]. He played great against the Jackets, outstanding against Pittsburgh, inconsistent in first five against Tampa, and not tested in the finals outside of Game 2.

Id rank Holtby in the top-5 to top-8 range.

 

[Doctor No]

Holtby is the best goalie in hockey now.

Your comment has little to do with the question being asked.

 

[Revelation]

Outside his 1 great season don't really get the hype, he was never one of those goalies I dreaded playing feeling like they would be a brick wall no matter what the caps would do like Lundqvist, Rinne, Fleury, Quick, even Halak and Steve Mason way back in the day

 

[Soundwave]

No. Just like HFBoards told me Ovechkin would never win a Cup.

 

[Iapyi]

He has the skill level to possibly do it but the team he is on just may be the worst team in the NHL. That will make it harder for him.

 

[Doyoulikeapples*]

Doubt it. I hope for habs sake he does, because he’s about to start a rediculously massive contract.

 

[Kcb12345]

Nope.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Connor Hellebuyck just got nominated for the Vezina and Pekka Rinne probably wins it at 36 after hip surgeries. Gonna go out on a limb here and say that if those are two of the three best in the league right now Price still has something left in the tank at 30.

I don't think he'll ever be "the best goalie" ever again in the sense you'd trade any goalie for him in a heartbeat. Given age and contracts you'd probably rather have Vasilevskiy or Murray and IMO Bobrovsky is the best goalie in the league over the medium term, and I don't see Price in his 30s being so much better than those guys that it counters the much bigger contract.

In the sense of "best goalie in the league" meaning Vezina candidate I don't think it's crazy to imagine he contends for a Vezina again. I'm not sure how likely it is he wins another because wins still seem to be such a factor and the Habs suck and will suck for a while, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt here.