Number Retirement and Hall of Fame | The Legends Behind Carey Price

Ken Dryden is one of the greatest goalies in history. He also entered the NHL at a time when the Canadiens dominated hockey. He doesn’t have enough fingers on one hand to put on his Stanley Cup rings, with six conquests in just eight years of his career.

In 15 years, Carey Price has none, but he reached the final in 2021. That doesn’t stop Dryden from believing that Price’s number 31 deserves to sit high up in the Bell Centre, between his number 29 and the 33 of another legendary goalie, Patrick Roy.

“I won’t say anything because it’s someone else’s decision,” he said Tuesday at Serge Savard’s golf tournament. “But I think the decision is obvious…”

Price, after all, retired (unofficially) in 2022 as the team’s all-time win leader with 404, ahead of Jacques Plante, Patrick Roy and Dryden. He also holds the record for most wins in a season, with 44, two more than Dryden.

The Canadiens’ first choice in 2005, fifth overall, has played a few hundred more games than Plante, Roy and Dryden, he also ranks first for losses, but he is also the only goalie in history along with Jacques Plante in 1962 and José Théodore in 2002 to boast a Hart Trophy awarded to the most valuable player, won in 2015.

Carey Price also has an Olympic gold medal, a World Junior gold medal, a World Cup gold medal, a Vezina Trophy, an American League championship and the title of most valuable player.

Calling all: Should the Canadiens retire Carey Price’s number 31?

José Théodore is not far down the list of the greatest goaltenders in Canadiens history. He probably comes after Price, Plante, Roy, Bill Durnan, George Hainsworth and Georges Vézina.

“Is Price going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility? His second? It all depends on the other goalies in the running. Because there are a lot of candidates. But he’s going to be in there.”

For the retirement of the jersey, Theodore submits an additional name. “If we think about retiring Price’s jersey, we have to retire (Andrei) Markov’s, because Markov did the equivalent of Price.” Theodore played four years with Markov, between 2001 and 2006, including the season in which he won the Hart and Vezina trophies.

Theodore and Price are linked in the team’s history in a way. Theodore was still at the height of his glory in 2005 when Price was drafted. One wondered why draft a goalie fifth overall with Theodore, who was 28 years old at the time of that famous draft.

Less than a year later, Theo, as he is known to his friends, was traded to Colorado for another goalie, David Aebischer. He played for the Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers before retiring in 2013. Theodore comes to 49^e rank in history for career victories with 286, as many as Daniel Bouchard, the former Nordiques goalie, four fewer than Ed Giacomin and seven fewer than Mike Luit.

Theodore is well placed to understand the pressure that Price has faced over the years in Montreal. You have to be morally strong to keep goal in a market like Montreal.

“I will repeat Price’s famous phrase: Chill out. That’s so true. I could have said it many times. You just have to tell everyone to relax. I put a lot of pressure on myself and you have to avoid trying to please everyone. You have to play YOUR game and block out the outside noise. You might get dumped in the papers, you really have to not listen to what’s going on around you.”

Our man noticed the change when he played elsewhere. “When I hear people say that there is as much pressure elsewhere, it is completely false. But it is not a defect. It can be an advantage. It helped me to surpass myself because of the pressure. Yes it is much bigger.”

Serge Savard is also campaigning in favour of Carey Price. “It’s not a decision of the people, but of the organization. When I took office (in 1983), we retired several jerseys that hadn’t been retired, like Doug Harvey’s. It’s certain that Price is a candidate, even if he didn’t win the Stanley Cup.”