Carey Price and Montreal Canadiens still talking
For the first time this off-season Carey Price’s agent Gerry Johannson spoke openly about the ongoing negotiations between his client and the Montreal Canadiens.
Johannson explained that Montreal and Price were still locked down in the details, saying the two sides were still far from getting a deal done. Nevertheless, Johannson remained optimistic stating that he was hoping to get a contract signed before the end of August, and if not, early September.
Johannson elaborated on the talks stating: “(The two sides) are not necessarily close, but it’s not that we’re not close in a bad way. We’re having good conversations and we both are committed to getting things done.”
Price is a restricted free agent and can take the Canadiens to an arbitrator. However the two sides have elected to negotiate a deal on their own terms.
The trading away of Jaroslav Halak was thought to have been carried out to make it necessary for the Canadiens to sign Price, however in recent weeks there has been speculation that the Canadiens are willing to part ways with the young net-minder.
The recent emergence of Antti Niemi on the free agent market has sparked many to hypothesize that Montreal would be willing to rid themselves of Price in favour of the Finnish keeper.
Johannson believes the Canadiens are not interested in signing Niemi, and are committed to locking up Price for the future.
The sticking point of the deal seems to be term. Johannson mentioned that he and his client were looking for a one or two-year deal, while the Canadiens were more interested in a long-term contract.
Price struggled last season splitting time with Halak, before being replaced full time with the Slovak goaltender.
Price went 13-20-5 last season with a 2.77 goals-against-average, and .912 save percentage
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