At home in British Columbia and with the certainty that he will never wear pads in the National Hockey League (NHL) again, Carey Price allowed himself to look back on one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
The man who was the face of the Montreal Canadiens for fifteen years returned to Sainte-Flanelle’s journey to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. After surprising the hockey world by making it all the way to the end, the Habs lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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“At the end you are almost in shock and emotionally devastated. “Just think of all the effort that went into it,” Price recalled during a lengthy interview with renowned NHL.com journalist Dave Stubbs.
“Life goes on and I’m grateful for the memories of this trip, but we were so close. At this point all you can say to yourself is that this is really frustrating. The Stanley Cup is the goal you want to achieve your whole life, and it’s so demoralizing to get so close to that goal.
He distanced himself
Price played his last game in a Habs jersey on April 29, 2022. He was still with the team last year even though he still lived in Quebec. This will no longer be the case in 2023-2024.
At the annual CH golf tournament, Price realized he wasn’t really part of the team anymore. As he looked around the reception room, he wasn’t sure whether he should sit with the current or former players. The 36-year-old ultimately decided to share his food with the trainers.
“I told myself that this year it was time to leave the discussion group,” he said. However, I continue to talk to some players. I’m talking to Jake [Allen] often enough to see how he’s doing.”
“I follow what the Habs do, but I almost never watch TV,” Price added. In the evening the children take control of it. However, for the first time in a long time, I subscribed to a sports TV package.
Children, priority
The former caretaker’s occupation is to spend as much time as possible with his children. Price and his wife Angela had Liv (7), Millie (5) and Lincoln (3).
“I mainly focus on my family and my health. I’m really happy to be there for my children. It has been a real privilege watching them grow. I traveled a lot with Liv when she was a child. The same goes for Millie. But I was able to be there at Lincoln from the beginning.”
“I miss a lot of things from my playing days, but sitting alone in a hotel room isn’t one of them,” Price continued.
“I’ll go back to Montreal maybe two or three times a season. There are always opportunities for me to go there more often, but with three kids that age, it’s hard to just grab my stuff and go.”
Another draw
Last spring, the Price family put their Candiac home on the market for just under $2 million. The house does not appear to have found a buyer, as the goalkeeper stated that he was renting his house to a player in the current edition of the Canadian. However, he did not reveal his identity.
“He had moved in a few days later when our realtor called us because the water heater was broken,” Price said. I was feeling pretty bad. These are the things that are one of the joys of being a homeowner.”