Carey season comes with asterisk
Canadiens’ goalie has been great but he owes some wins to changes in game
Carey Price is on pace to set the Canadiens record for most wins in a season. But Price will have to lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup for this season to be considered as the greatest performance by a Montreal goaltender.
Price has 40 victories going into Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre and will probably have six chances to break the team record of 42 wins. Jacques Plante reached that mark twice — in 1955-56 and 1961-62 — while Ken Dryden matched it in 1975-76.
As impressive as Price’s performance has been this season, any entry in the team record book would have to be accompanied by an asterisk because the circumstances have changed since Plante and Dryden put up their numbers.
Let’s look at Plante’s recordsetting seasons.
When the Hall of Famer posted his 42 wins, he did so in seasons that were only 70 games long. In 1955-56, Plante appeared in 64 games, which is comparable to Price’s workload, and he posted a 42-12-9 record with a 1.86 goals-against average. It’s safe to assume that Plante would have added to his win totals with another 12 games on the schedule. Plante capped that season by posting an 8-2 record en route to the Stanley Cup in an era when there were only four teams that made the playoffs.
It’s also safe to assume that Plante would have added to his win totals in the 1961-62 season when he played all 70 games and had a 42-14-14 record. This was an interesting season for Plante. He won the Vézina Trophy, which was then awarded to the goaltender with the best GAA, and he added the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player — an honour that could well be bestowed on Price this season. But the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 1962, losing to Chicago in six games.
That series marked the beginning of the end for Plante in Montreal. A six-time Stanley Cup winner, he would play only one more season for the Canadiens. Rising tension between Plante and coach Toe Blake over the goalie’s work ethic prompted a trade to the New York Rangers after the Canadiens lost another first-round playoff series in 1963. Plante didn’t win another playoff series until 1969 when he and Glenn Hall shared the Vézina Trophy and led the expansion St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup final.
Dryden reached the 42-win mark in 80 games during the 1975-76 season, but there is another factor that has to be considered when assessing the numbers for Plante and Dryden. They both played in an era when there was no overtime or shootouts and games could end in ties.
Plante would have had nine more opportunities for wins in 1955-56 if there had been overtime and 14 more chances in 1961-62. Dryden would have had a similar opportunity to pad his win totals because he had a 42-10-8 mark in his record season.
For comparison’s sake, Price’s record also would have been different if he had been playing under the old rules. Five of his victories this season came in overtime or in a shootout. That would make his adjusted record 35-15-10.
It would be a mistake to suggest that Price hasn’t had an outstanding season and there’s one area in which his performance has been more difficult to achieve. His supporting cast is not nearly as good as the talent surrounding his predecessors. Plante and Dryden were parts of dynasties. Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau, Dickie Moore and Doug Harvey were among the Hall of Famers playing with Plante. Dryden’s teammates included the Big Three of Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard on defence with Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer and Steve Shutt leading the offence.
Price is not the only reason the Canadiens are among the top teams in the league but he is the No. 1 reason. He’s having a great season — a Hart Trophy season — but it’s not the greatest season.