When will Carey Price play again? Canadiens goalkeeper returns to team on Monday

The Canadiens announced Friday that Carey Price will return to the team.

“He will be here on Monday”, coach Dominique Ducharme said after team practice. “Obviously we haven’t seen him in a month. We haven’t talked to him and he will come to see our therapists and see where he is and from there we will continue to move forward.”

Price has not played since the 2021 Stanley Cup final, where he supported the Canadiens to second place.

Where has Carey Price been?

On October 7, the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Association announced that Price would voluntarily participate in the NHL / NHLPA player assistance program.

“Today, I’m not thinking about Carey Price, the goalkeeper,” general manager Marc Bergevin said. “I’m thinking of Carey Price, the human being.”

MORE: Price Enters NHL / NHLPA Player Assistance Program

Bergevin, who heard the news the day before, which he mentioned caught him off guard, was overwhelmed with excitement during his press conference.

“It’s … it’s difficult,” he said, fighting through tears when asked what Price has meant to him over the past nine years together, before gesturing to the next question.

The program was created in 1996 and helps players and their families with mental health, substance abuse and other problems. The exact reason for Price’s admission to the program has not been revealed; However, Price’s wife Angela posted the following message on her Instagram:

Bergevin said at the time of the announcement that Price would be out of service for a minimum of 30 days, but “it could be longer.” November 7 marks almost 30 days exactly.

Carey Price is also recovering from knee surgery

Price missed training camp while recovering from knee (meniscus) surgery in July. He had not practiced with the team but had reportedly skated. according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. He was expected to return at the beginning of the season when the surgery was announced; however, as things got closer to the start of the season (Montreal’s first game was on October 13), their attire was not so clear cut.

“For sure there is a backlog. I don’t think it’s a complete medical situation like when they come before the season, but for sure he’s coming off an injury, a surgery, so we have to see where he is with that,” Ducharme said. . “And then from there, I think it’s the gym, then on the ice alone, then with the goalkeeping coach, with the shooters, with the team.

“So it’s sure there is a build-up, and the timeline, it’s hard to dig deep and really have a plan.”

When will Carey Price play in a game?

As far as everyone knows, Price has not been skating since entering the program, so the expectation is that it will be a few weeks before he is fully ready to go. Between a normal training camp and preseason action, there is about 2.5 weeks to prepare for the start of the season, but players enter that after skating for weeks. The Canadiens will likely make a slow push for Price as well, as he’s coming back from that knee surgery. According to Eric Engels of SportsnetPrice could also do a season of conditioning at Laval (AHL) before he adjusts to Montreal.

It’s been 121 days since Price played for the Canadiens, in the team’s Game 5 loss to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup final. The goalkeeper was 12-7-5 with a .901 save percentage in 25 games in 2021. He missed time at the end of the season after entering concussion protocol and played a game at Laval in preparation for her return. When he returned, Price posted a .924 save percentage and an average of 2.28 goals against in the postseason.

NHL POWER RATINGS: Canadiens start slow

Over the course of 14 seasons, all with the Canadiens, the 2015 Hart and Vezina Trophy winner has a record of 360-257-79, a .917 save percentage and 49 shutouts.

The Canadiens have struggled as a team to start the 2021-22 season. Entering Nov. 5, they sat 30th out of 32 teams in points with a 3-9-0 record. They allowed 3.33 goals against per game played, the sixth worst in the league, despite allowing 30.7 shots against per game (12th fewer). With Price out, Jake Allen has taken the number one spot, but is 3-7-0 with a .904 save percentage and 2.92 goals against. Reserve Sam Montembeault is winless with a .887 savings percentage and a 3.52 GAA.