Cowan: Hockey Hall of Fame snubs Canadiens' Carey Price in first year of eligibility
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The big difference between those goalies and Price — who never won a Stanley Cup — is that they had several Hall of Famers playing in front of them. Only once in Price's 15 years with the Canadiens did a teammate have more than 80 points, and that was during his rookie season in 2007-08, when Alex Kovalev had 35-39-84 totals.
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Kovalev ranked 11th in NHL scoring during Price's rookie season. During the next 14 seasons, the highest another one of Price's teammates ranked in NHL scoring was 21st, when Max Pacioretty had 37-30-67 totals in 2014-15. Only twice during Price's 15 seasons did the Canadiens rank higher than 13th in the NHL in offence.
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Price's best season came in 2014-15, when he posted a 44-16-6 record, a 1.96 GAA, a .933 save percentage and nine shutouts, winning the Vézina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie and the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He finished his career with 712 games played, a 361-261-79 record, a 2.51 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Price ranks first among Canadiens goalies in games played and wins. He had a losing record in the playoffs — 43-45 — despite a 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
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Unfortunately, Price couldn't score.
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At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi — when Price had some future Hall of Famers playing in front of him — he was outstanding, posting a 0.59 GAA and a .972 save percentage as Canada won the gold medal. Price also won gold at the 2007 world junior championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
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'I was able to be a part of so many special moments in Montreal, being there for so long,' Price said during a phone interview in February. 'Being a part of a centennial season, being part of an All-Star Game there, being a part of jersey retirements. I got the opportunity to take in so many different special events. But I think, above all else, being part of a Stanley Cup run was a lot of fun.'
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