Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will start Friday's game against the New York Islanders. It will mark Price's first appearance on the ice since Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.
Canadiens interim head coach Martin St. Louis announced Price as the team's starting goalie following Friday's practice.
Following the conclusion of the 2022 season, Price had offseason knee surgery and faced a very uncertain future. The Canadiens chose not to protect Price in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, but Price's lofty contract was likely the main reason that the Kraken chose not to select the veteran netminder.
Prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, Price announced that he was voluntarily entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.
"Over the last few years, I have let myself get to a very dark place and I didn't have the tools to cope with that struggle," Price said in an Instagram post last November. "I made the decision to enter a residential treatment facility for substance abuse. Things had reached a point that I realized I needed to prioritize my health for both myself and for my family. Asking for help when you need it is what we encourage our kids to do, and it was what I needed to do."
Price did return to the Canadiens in late 2021. He even began participating in team drills, which led many to believe that he could be on the path to returning to the ice.
Over his 15 NHL seasons, the Canadiens goalie has put together a career record of 360-257-79 along with a 2.50 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. During the 2014-15 season, the seven-time All-Star won both the Hart Trophy as the league MVP, the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender, and the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player in the regular season as voted on by the NHLPA.
Price is one of just 39 goaltenders that have recorded at least 300 career wins. The veteran goalie's contract currently runs through the 2025-26 campaign with an average annual value of $10.5 million.
