Net Presence Comes at a Price
Written by Habsterix, AllHabs.net
There are times in life when karma finds a way to throw things back in our face and with age and wisdom, we as human beings are hoping to have learned from our previous experiences and avoid those embarrassing situations.
PENTICTON, BC. — Not that long ago, Bob Gainey and Trevor Timmins shocked the hockey world by selecting, with the fifth pick overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, a young goaltender from the Western Hockey League by the name of Carey Price. Seeing that Gainey had just given fan favourite Jose Theodore a shiny new contract, self-proclaimed experts were puzzled by the pick when Gilbert Brule was available, a guy who filled the needs of a Habs’ team struggling up front.
A gold medal around his neck, named the best goaltender and the Most Valuable Player at the World Junior Championship, Price was also awarded the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL goaltender of the year as well as the CHL’s goaltender of the year. But wait, he wasn’t done yet. He joined the Hamilton Bulldogs and led them to the Calder Cup, receiving the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Calder Cup playoffs MVP, making him the youngest player ever to receive the award.
Then started the criticism… He made the team the next season and started as Cristobal Huet’s backup, and did well every time he was called upon. When Huet struggled, Price took over as the starter and many felt like it was too soon. Out came the stories, the gossips of his night life. Rumoroids (those who feed rumours to desperate fans) quite enjoyed feeding “scoops” and soon enough, traditional media hopped on the bandwagon.
When Price lost his starter role to Jaroslav Halak in the 2009-10 season, a majority of fans wanted to see him out of town. Most were blaming Gainey for his favouritism towards the one they sarcastically called “le joyau” (the jewel) and when Gainey stepped down as GM, and seeing the success Halak had in the following playoffs, fans had hope that Price would be gone.
Gauthier surprised most everyone when he traded Halak to the St-Louis Blues in exchange for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, therefore making Price the undisputed starter in Montreal. The outrage was everywhere at the time and when Price had a rough start to the exhibition season, fans at the Bell Centre started booing him, forcing the young goaltender to tell them to “chill out.” How dare he tell fans what they could or could not do?
Looking at his statistics, and at what he has meant for this franchise in the last two seasons, everyone is now cheering Price. While some still refuse to admit it, Gauthier made the right choice.
And to those who panicked and doubted Price, it’s time to cowboy-up!
En français: Carey Price: les sceptiques seront confondus
Category: Feature
About the Author (Author Profile)
Habsterix is a fictional character created for the sole purpose of the internet. Based on the cartoon Asterix of Gaule, his magic potion is his passion for the Montreal Canadiens. How old is he? His close friends will tell you that he’s so old, his back goes out more than he does! He was born when Béliveau lifted the Cup and remembers the days when seeing the Habs winning was not a wish, it was an expectation. For him, writing is a hobby, not a profession. Having moved to beautiful British Columbia in 1992, he started writing mostly in French to keep up his grammar, until non-bilingual BC friends pushed him into starting his own English Blog. His wife will say that he can be stubborn, but she will be the first to recognise that he has great sense of humour. He is always happy to share with you readers his point of views on different topics, and while it is expected that people won’t always agree, respect of opinions and of others is his mission statement.Subscribe
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Sites That Link to this Post
- NHL Blog Beat – February 13, 2012. | Spectors Hockey | February 13, 2012
- GameDay: Habs vs Bruins Lineups, Gomez, Gallagher’s Record | All Habs | February 15, 2012
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I really don’t get why people think Price is all that. I’d take a Rinne, a Quick, a Thomas and definitely a Brodeur a few years back over Price any day. And the nerves of him reportedly asking for 7 mill long-term when he really hasn’t proved anything yet.
Never did great in the playoffs yet (it was Halak that did), lets very easy goals in regularly, hardly has a winning record, and sucks in shoot-outs with his lame blocker side. So I’m not on the Price wagon, and I often wonder why so many fans are. Maybe the name’s catchy, but it comes at a Price… ?!?
Definitely food for thoughts about McGuire…