Usually, at this time of the year, Carey Price shows up at the Brossard training center with his stern demeanor and his sticks, ready to face the challenge of a new season.
But not this time.
This time, he came through one of the large garage doors that opens onto one of the center’s soccer fields. He appeared smiling, and also at the wheel of a new utility vehicle bearing his number, the result of this new partnership with the CFMOTO Canada brand.
A few meters away, towards the rinks, his ex-teammates were preparing for the next camp, with sticks, helmets or skates, all objects that will no longer be part of Carey Price’s daily life.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Carey Price
Because the 36-year-old man is preparing for a new life.
“I did this for so long,” he admitted during this advertising press briefing, Tuesday noon in Brossard. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, because it symbolizes a new beginning, a new season. But this is the passage towards my new life. I’m going to spend a lot more time outside; Fall is hunting season, and it’s something I love doing with my family. »
There will be no more stops, therefore, nor victories or ovations, so many little pleasures which have driven him with an undeniable thirst to win since his arrival with the Canadian in 2005. He is not not retired, at least not officially; he remains under contract with the Canadian until 2025-2026, and he must still undergo a physical rehabilitation program as well as medical examinations, which he will have to undergo when camp opens.
But he won’t wear the leggings anymore.
Unless there’s a miracle. I still have a contract and I’m clinging to the hope of playing again. But the odds drop a little more with each passing month…
Carey Price
It’s a knee injury that has followed him and haunted him, again and again, since his last season in the National League, that of 2021-2022. By his own admission, in everyday life, it’s okay, but when he has to increase the intensity just a little, it doesn’t work at all.
“I can hold my children and go for a walk without any problem. But if I play in a softball tournament, then my knee starts to swell for two weeks, just from having to run on the trails. I could go to the Canadiens’ camp and earn a spot with the club… but if my knee swells for two weeks after a softball tournament, I think playing a full hockey season wouldn’t work. »
Of course, he will be left with the memories of the past, but above all, the moments of the future, which he is already looking forward to experiencing. He will be back at the Bell Center during the home opener on October 14, and he wouldn’t say no, one of these days, to a position with the team.
He plans to return to the family home in Kelowna, while keeping an eye on this Canadian he loved so much. If we ask him for permission to exchange his contract to another club for financial considerations, he will not object. “I’m going to be a member of the Canadiens my whole life, and I’m very proud of that, but I’m ready to help the team in any way I can. If salary needs to be liquidated to improve the team, I’m here to help. »
Also, he will spend time, a lot of time, adjusting to his new life. Which is not always so easy; Monday, during the traditional Canadian golf tournament, he found himself hesitating between the alumni section and the players section at dinner time. “So I went and sat down with the coaches…”
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Carey Price at the Canadiens’ annual golf tournament on Monday
He loved doing what he did for 15 years in Montreal. But now the time has come to prepare to love something else.
“There’s not much that can replace that… What I’m going to miss about hockey is playing big games, it’s that nervousness. This side of hockey is going to be difficult to replace…”