While he wasn’t in uniform, Carey Price made his presence known as the Montreal Canadiens kicked off their season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
The 35-year-old netminder was met with an ovation of roaring applause from Bell Centre patrons as his name was announced amongst the other players not in uniform. Price then emerged from the ice level hallway to greet the sea of fans, most of whom were standing up and chanting his name.
Price, who has been with the organization since 2005, was visibly emotional. The following video shared by the team shows how the heartwarming moment played out.
CAREY! CAREY! CAREY! ❤️#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/MrzvwLp77f
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 12, 2022
Clips shared to Twitter by those in attendance captured the atmosphere and scale of the applause.
Biggest ovation – Carey Price. pic.twitter.com/KPkaz8OBb4
— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) October 12, 2022
Carey Price ovation live#canadiensmontreal #habs pic.twitter.com/urSMwTKiEf
— Guillaume Provost (@GuiProvost) October 12, 2022
Price was placed on LTIR back in September due to a serious knee injury that could prevent him from ever returning to the game. General manger Kent Hughes discussed the situation last month.
“Our sense is that Carey’s knee has not responded to any kind of treatment and rehab that’s been attempted since he had the surgery after the 2021 playoff run,” Hughes said in his statement, adding that he’s “not very optimistic that short of some kind of intervention that things will change,”
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On April 29, Price made his fifth and final start of the 2021-2022 season — and possibly his career — with a 10-2 win against the Florida Panthers, making 37 saves in what was his 700th NHL start. The following day, Price said he was seeking a second opinion on his knee and that he was aware he may have played his last game. he added that if those were his final moments as a Montreal Canadien then “that would be a great way to do it.”
Price, who is the winningest goaltender in Canadiens history, is expected to meet with members of the media sometime next week to discuss his future.
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