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Six Years to Win a Stanley Cup--Price can Deliver |
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If you were surprised by the terms of Carey Price's new contract with the Canadiens, you shouldn't be. Even I, who optimistically forecast that he'd be signing a seven-year deal that would pay him more than 35 million dollars, wasn't taken aback by the news of his 6.5M AAV over the next six seasons.
Some have posited this deal is based solely on Price's potential. To argue would be difficult. But I'd prefer to see it as paying for what he already is, what he will be, and for some unrestricted years in which, if he continued on the same developmental curve, he likely could've cashed in even higher--especially when you factor in inflation.
That the deal is backloaded certainly reflects the logical framework above. Price will earn 5.5 and 5.75M for the next to seasons, then 6.75, then 7M for the final three seasons of his deal.
Reverberating on the drums of displeased fans is the fact that Price is now the third-highest paid goaltender in the National Hockey League. And though he may not own legitimate claim to the mantle that has him standing even with Pekka Rinne and Henrik Lundqvist, he can certainly boast what every other goalie in that category can; that he's the best player on his team.
Had the Canadiens gone short on this deal, his cap hit would likely be higher, and it would most certainly lead to him walking out the door or holding the team ransom for a deal people would have legitimate reason to complain about.
Six years is a long time. Going longer is certainly riskier, that either party could be lumped into an uncomfortable situation if one is unhappy with the other.
By the end of those six years, Price will have been in Montreal for 11, having likely added 350-odd games to the 271 he's already played for the Canadiens. And that's not counting the playoffs.
And that's really the other side of this deal that we haven't discussed.
In year one of Bergevin's tenure, he's inherited some nice pieces that he can deal with long-term. He inherited some A1 prospects in Beaulieu, Tinordi, Ellis, Bournival, Gallagher, Pateryn, Bennett. He inherited the best draft positions the Canadiens have been in since they got their hands on Price. He's expanded the bureaucracy tremendously.
A couple more savvy moves on the market, and Bergevin's put the Canadiens in position to vault up the standings and potentially make the playoffs. It may not happen this season, but how many more will the team's fans have to withstand before it not only makes the post-season, but excels in it?
A large part of the future success is in the hands of all these young players that will mature together in the minors and make the Canadiens infinitely better when their time comes. Pieces like Pacioretty and Subban will be added to over the short while that it takes for the prospects to mature. The rest of it falls on the man who just signed the biggest contract ever awarded by the Montreal Canadiens.
Price has sufficiently proven that when the time comes for this team to succeed, he's got the goods to take them over the top. Can't imagine what other teams who have perennially faltered between the pipes would've offered up for him in three years, on the open market. When the time comes, Bergevin won't have to ask himself why he didn't lock him up when he had the chance.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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