Carey Price has been placed on the offseason long-term injured reserve by the Montreal Canadiens, the organization confirmed on Wednesday. The general manager of the 2021–22 season, Kent Hughes, reported that Price has not made much progress in his rehabilitation from a persistent knee problem that kept him out for the majority of the campaign.
Hughes stated in a statement released by the team that Price’s knee is still not totally recovered. As a result, Price won’t be able to hit the ice for a time.
“Our impression is that Carey’s knee has not responded to any kind of treatment and rehab that has been undertaken since he had the surgery after the 2021 playoff run, and we’re not very confident that things will change short of some kind of intervention,” Hughes stated in his statement. We feel confident enough to put him on [LTIR] at this time.
After the Canadiens’ unexpected run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, Price underwent knee surgery. Price was out until the very last game of the 2021–22 regular season due to his rehabilitation and a month in the NHL’s player assistance program.
Price has since continued to undergo care for the injured knee, but little improvement has been seen. Hughes hinted in August that Price might not be able to participate in the following season at all.
He received a shot to the knee this summer to see if that would assist, according to Hughes. “It didn’t, and as of right now, we don’t anticipate Carey to be available to play at the beginning of this season. Sincere to say, I don’t see how Carey could return this season through the rehab procedure.”
The Canadiens signed goalkeeper Cayden Primeau to a three-year, $2.67 million contract the day after Price was placed on LTIR. The fact that it is a one-way contract, maybe most importantly, implies that Primeau might very well be on Montreal’s roster on opening night.
Primeau, a Canadiens seventh-round pick in 2017, played 12 games with the team last year, but he battled to stay afloat. Primeau recorded a GAA of 4.62 and a pathetic 0.868 save percentage. Primeau also scored 11.92 more goals than usual, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Primeau will need to surpass either Jake Allen or Sam Montembeault, who are both currently under contract with the team, in order to earn a spot on the NHL squad full-time.
