|
Carey Price, You’ve Come A Long Way Baby…. Win 315... |
|
|
|
|
|
We have another record broken for the most storied franchise in NHL history.
A living Legend in front of us, playing for the team we care so deeply for, and making a mark that will be awfully tough to beat.
Tonight Carey Price pitched a 20 save effort to help secure a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
I won’t lie, I became emotional when the horn went and I watched Price casually secure the puck as a Red Wing felt like he needed to barrel through the final second of the game at first period speed. He picked up the puck and looked just like he has for most of his career: Calm, Composed, Nonchalant.
Then in the lead up to his first star announcement I just felt so happy as a fan to witness such history. I imagine Price was being congratulated by family and teammates alike and that delayed his well deserved First Star victory lap. Maybe he was doing something else, but thinking about it in that way seems fitting.
Price made a few low key statements about what the win means to him and credited the great players he has went to battle with and mentioned that playing in Montreal can be emotional. He mentioned that he had to have thick skin playing here and that was a reminder that Price doesn’t forget the slings and arrows from his career ups and downs. Price shoots straight, like it or not, but he’s honest.
I feel more pride as a fan knowing Price conducts himself like this and brought his best every time he played wearing a CH. A honest character who has tremendous ability and gives off an elite poker player-like coolness.
From humble beginnings as a young man who would fly in his dads plane to games and practices, to a top WHL goaltender, to a World Junior Gold medal winner, to an AHL championship, to becoming the All Time Wins Leader for the Montreal Canadiens…
Carey Price, You’ve Come A Long Way Baby….
We can thank Bob Gainey and Co’s foresight in snagging Price a bit higher than most expected in his draft year at #5, but in hindsight Price should have went 2nd overall after Sidney Crosby. I remember watching that draft and I remember watching the lotto for it as well. I knew Crosby was a HUGE Canadiens fan growing up and when the Habs were revealed at #5 my heart sunk a bit as I obviously was hoping for the hockey miracle to happen. I remember an interview with the teen aged Crosby and he said how he kept getting more and more excited every time he crossed a team off his list and Montreal was still there.
But #5 was the Habs spot and Price was a Canadien. My favorite player of all time, Patrick Roy, was a goaltender I held the position in the highest regard. I was excited knowing we had grabbed an elite G prospect, and I couldn’t believe how angry Pierre McGuire appeared to be at the selection….
All Price did was win everywhere he went, every level up he excelled. Price is still missing the Stanley Cup on his Bucket List but he has pretty much everything else.
Price’s time in MTL was thought to be over early after a heroic playoff performance from J Halak but in the offseason I remember GM Gauthier (who replaced Gainey in season) said they didn’t want to trade Price and that was all anyone wanted. The vultures were trying to pry away Carey Price because they knew he was the real deal. I believe Scotty Bowman even was quoted during this time saying something to the effect of: You don’t trade a Carey Price….
I also remember an interview with Hal Gill saying how he asked Price after that troubled season if he was happy to possibly be leaving MTL in a trade and Price told him he wanted to stay and make it work…. Our fans haven’t repaid this young man who just wanted to make it work with 100% support, but most of us who actually understand what a player like Price means to a franchise have given that support.
As I said, I was a Patrick Roy super fan. My heart broke the night I watched that beating he took in MTL in French at my friends house in Windsor, ON. When I saw the next day he wanted to be traded I felt betrayed. When Carey Price wasn’t dealt and he came back and turned it around over his already great career I felt appreciated as a fan. My favorite player asked to leave (albeit we know he later rescinded the request but horrible management chose to destroy our beloved team anyways) but here was my new favorite player putting in the work, shouldering the pressure, and giving it back to media types when it got too stupid.
Price made me appreciate being a fan more because Price appreciated what his work meant. He gave the Montreal Canadiens loyalty in an era where we have received virtually no loyalty from any player. So tonight is incredible for us as fans as our best player, our leader, our generational talent just took over the All Time Wins list from another goaltending pioneer and Legend, the great Jacques Plante by besting his 314 Win total with win number 315.
We have all gasped in amazement at Price’s brilliance, as has most anyone who watches hockey. Carey Price is a generational talent in goal and despite a fanbase that is sometimes too emotional and outspoken for its own good he has delivered us a chance to watch Montreal Canadiens history unfold… in fact, we might see that All Time Wins total increase a few times over the next month.
Enjoy the moment as a fan, as these events don’t come around all too often and especially not with the Legends that own these team records. I really hope Carey and his family soak in the moment and reflect on what it means not only to him personally, but what it means to fans like me… fans like us… the die hards that wanted to see him succeed through thick and thin. We all get to soak in some of Price’s accomplishment today and I’m incredibly grateful to do so.
I’m grateful to HockeyBuzz for the venue to provide my hockey opinion and I’m grateful to all the readers that click every month. I know I won’t be featured anywhere in mainstream sports media but I know there is a good segment of readers here that give me a look and I’m grateful for all of you as well. I hope you enjoyed me recapping how tonight made me feel as a fan and I hope you enjoyed watching a seemingly insurmountable team record fall before your eyes, a story you might tell your kids or grandkids one day while watching hockey.
These types of wins are wins for all of us…
Congratulations Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens! Thanks for the memories!
Go Habs Go!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»