Montreal Canadiens come to terms with Carey Price
The Montreal Canadiens announced Thursday night that they have come to terms with restricted free agent goaltender Carey Price on a two-year contract worth $5.5 million. Price will earn $2.5 million in 2010-11 and $3 million in 2011-12, for an annual cap hit of $2.75 million.
After trading away popular goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who had ascended to “rock star” status after a solid season and tremendous playoff run last season, the pressure was on general manager Pierre Gauthier to get a deal done with Price before the start of training camp.
"We are extremely happy that Carey has agreed to pursue his career with the Canadiens," Gauthier said in a statement. "Carey is a key member of our Club. He has proven that he has what it takes to be a good goaltender in the league, and we are confident he will perform to the best of his abilities for years to come in a Canadiens uniform."
After the Canadiens traded Halak to the St. Louis Blues for prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz in June, many hockey fans in Montreal were expecting the deal with Price to come much sooner, leaving countless rumours surrounding Price’s future in Montreal while they waited. One recent report claimed that Price was holding out for $3 million per season and would “go on strike” if his demands were not met. However, that report was later refuted.
The 23-year old Price appeared in 41 games for the Canadiens in 2009-10 and started the season as the Canadiens No. 1 goaltender. However, Price struggled with consistency as the season progressed and eventually lost the No. 1 job to Halak. Price finished the year with a 13-20-5 record, and posted a 2.77 goals-against average with a .912 save percentage.
The Canadiens have faith that Price will rebound and find the same form he had in his rookie campaign in 2007-08, where after a strong second half, he led the Canadiens to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
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