Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price has set a few records throughout his lengthy NHL career. From raising the bar for his franchise’s all-time shutout tally to becoming the winningest goalie in Habs history, No. 31 has etched his name into the history books.
And despite not playing for the entirety of the 2022-2023 season, the 36-year-old managed to set another NHL record last year — this time on the salary front.
According to capfriendly.com, Price, who is still under an $84 million contract he signed in 2017, became the highest-paid goalie in NHL history last season when his career earnings surpassed those of Henrik Lundqvist.
While his contract pays him an annual average salary of $10.5 million a season, Price collected about $7.75 million last season, bringing his calculated career earnings up to $105,944,368. Meanwhile, Lundqvist, who retired in 2021, sits closely behind him with a total of $102,783,390.
Price signed his massive eight-year deal back in the 2017 offseason, which means there are still two years left on his contract, allowing that number to grow.
While he never managed to win a Stanley Cup, many would argue that Price’s hefty paycheque was earned.
Aside from leading the team to multiple playoff runs and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2021, Price has won the Vezina Trophy, Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, a Calder Cup, and an Olympic gold medal over his 15-season tenure in Montreal.
The Anaheim Lake, BC, native was placed on LTIR last season. And if Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes decides to put Price, whose injuries have kept him off the ice for the better part of two seasons, on LTIR again next season, the Habs will get $10.5 million in salary relief.
As for whether he will soon retire, Price told members of the Montreal media back in October of 2022 that he was “still holding out hope” for a return.
After Price and Lundqvist, the highest paid goalies in NHL history are as follows:
- Roberto Luongo — $93,130,646
- Sergei Bobrovsky — $90,814,146
- Marc-Andre Fleury — $84,421,512
- Martin Brodeur — $81,422,602
- Pekka Rinne — $64,369,767