Price hopes to stay in Montreal, challenge for Stanley Cup
BROSSARD, Que. — Star goaltender Carey Price hopes to sign a new contract and stay with the Montreal Canadiens.
Price is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. It will be up to management to decide if they want to lock him up for several years with a new deal or trade him in the offseason.
The Olympic gold medallist and former Vezina Trophy winner stated emphatically that he hopes to stay in Montreal. He feels the Canadiens can find the pieces they need to take a shot at winning the Stanley Cup, even if they were disappointed in losing in the first round of playoffs to the New York Rangers.
Another question mark involves forward Alexander Radulov. The Russian made an impressive return
If you thought Erik Karlsson walked on water then you don’t need to go any further for your proof.
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion pretty much confirmed that fact about the club’s captain Monday, but it should be noted he was talking about ice.
Karlsson, who revealed after Sunday’s 3-2 OT victory over the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden he had suffered two hairline fractures in his foot blocking a shot against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 28th, caught Dorion off guard by admitting he wasn’t completely healthy.
“Was I surprised? A bit,” Dorion said. “What do you say? I’ll probably get in trouble for saying this but, you believe in whatever you believe in, and they always say God rested on the seventh day, I think on the eighth day he created Erik Karlsson.
“We’re fortunate to have Erik Karlsson. Surprised? Yeah but I know that the injury wasn’t bothering him as much as it was as when we played Detroit.”
Now, everybody was aware Karlsson was hurting and he has to the NHL on a one-year deal with Montreal. Radulov said he’d like to stay on but hadn’t yet discussed where he’ll be next season.
Veteran defenceman Andrei Markov went a step farther. He joked that he hoped to have his contract extended for the rest of his life. The 38-year-old is still a force on the blue line and is expected to be offered at least another twoyear contract.
The Canadiens need help on offence. They finished first in the Atlantic Division this season but struggled to score goals in the playoffs.
But, they feel they can stay in contention for a championship with stars like Price, Shea Weber and Max Pacioretty and with the development of young talent like Artturi Lehkonen. been wearing foot protection on his skates. He is close to being healed but Dorion noted that the 26-year-old Swede has been playing through a lot of pain. Dorion shared the story about Karlsson’s decision to fly to Detroit earlier this month when the injury may have been at its worst.
Karlsson, who had misses two straight games with the injury, called Dorion on April 6 and wanted to get on a plane to the Motor City after skating in Ottawa in the morning.
“He made the call. He said, ‘I’m coming down.’ We thought he should rest up and, hopefully, we would get in the playoffs and he just made the call, ‘I’m coming down,’ ” said Dorion. “That day we got a plane for him to come down and I know he played through a lot of pain in those two games to get us to the playoffs.
“The injury has healed over time. He’s not 100%. He probably won’t be 100% until next September but the ability he has to play through pain and to be as dominant as he has been and not be 100% says a lot about him. Guy did say he was 150% which didn’t quite add up but any ways.”