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Carey Price: "Best Goalie in the NHL"


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Or so says Sid the Kid:

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/09/17/price-le-meilleur-gardien-selon-crosby

Most players said Lundquist, though.

You can argue that as a Pittsburgh Penguin Crosby is unlikely to have a clue about goaltending, given that they have The World's Most Expensive Sieve between the pipes. But I figured I'd toss this out there and see what happens ;)

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David Backes also said Subban was the best defenceman in the league.

Yeah, well, that's a far more plausible claim. Subban remains underrated in some circles if you ask me.

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I'd guess Sid went out of his way to name a fellow Canadian in an Olympic year.

But then surely he'd have picked Luongo, his teammate from 2010. I think he was being sincere.

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But then surely he'd have picked Luongo, his teammate from 2010. I think he was being sincere.

A lot of people run to stats when it comes to a hockey players opinion but everything could be psychological. Sidney Crosby might really believe his best shots have been stopped by Price. There's no sense in trying to find some ulterior motive.

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I don't know the stats, but haven't Price and Crosby had a bit of a rivalry over the years? I remember when Price came up and was being hailed as the "Sidney Crosby of goalies," and Price really seemed to make a point of having strong games against him. (What a bummer that those days of Price being seen as uniquely prodigious have been proven false). I don't think it's implausible that Sid is speaking from his own experience. Frankly, the idea that players are thinking ahead to Sochi in some calculated way seems a lot less plausible to me.

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The goaltender Price's career most parallel's is Tom Barrasso. Barrasso came in young with a lot of hype, had a bit of a career stalling in Buffalo due to said hype before becoming a veteran in Pittsburgh and backstopped them to two Stanley Cups. Some might take that to say Price won't become a winning goalie until it leaves Montreal but I think it says more about goalie maturity.

Jon Quick gets a pass by most due to two great playoff performances in a row but his numbers in the regular season during the half year were actually worse than Price. He has the same young unpredictability. Cam Ward has been dealing with it as well. Goalies are a hard breed to gauge. That's why I really don't blame people like Gainey relying on the game with everything right on paper.

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Well, nobody doubts that Price is an excellent goalie. What we now doubt is whether he can step it up in the crunch - because he's had six years to excel in the playoffs and has only done so once. It may come, it may not...but for a $6.5 mil cap hit, it better come, and sooner rather than later. I like Price, but he's out of rope.

That's the problem with the Ward/Quick comparisons. Those guys won Cups early. (Same with Roy, actually). I'd accept a mid-career dip if it followed a championship. Barasso is an interesting analogy, though.

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Price is 26. Goalies don't grow into themselves until 30-ish as a general rule. He also has almost 150 wins in the NHL at only 26, and at that pace he'll have 300 by 32. IMO, what Price needs is a vet backup who's "been there done that" so the kid - yes kid - can develop the mental aspect of his game more. I think Waite is a good step in a positive direction.

I also think Price, when he's on, is the best goalie in the NHL right now. Yes, brash bold commentary, but when he's on his game, is there honestly anyone better? Consistency and mental toughness are all he needs, and that'll come.

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Price is 26. Goalies don't grow into themselves until 30-ish as a general rule. He also has almost 150 wins in the NHL at only 26, and at that pace he'll have 300 by 32. IMO, what Price needs is a vet backup who's "been there done that" so the kid - yes kid - can develop the mental aspect of his game more. I think Waite is a good step in a positive direction.

I also think Price, when he's on, is the best goalie in the NHL right now. Yes, brash bold commentary, but when he's on his game, is there honestly anyone better? Consistency and mental toughness are all he needs, and that'll come.

When he's on? I agree. He radiates calm and unbeatability, an unflappable quality that the best goalies possess, along with superb technique. Unfortunately we haven't seen that much in the playoffs. I hope you're right that "it'll come." I really like Price as a personality - he always seemed like a unique kid, latest in a parade of distinctive "characters" between the Habs' pipes - and it'd be hugely rewarding to see him evolve into everything we've hoped he'd become.

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But then surely he'd have picked Luongo, his teammate from 2010. I think he was being sincere.

I think he made sure to pick a Canadian, and probably thought Price was the best option. I seriously doubt he thinks Price is better than Lundqvist, and maybe had reservations about saying Rask was better (out of spite/gamesmanship).

Price is 26. Goalies don't grow into themselves until 30-ish as a general rule. He also has almost 150 wins in the NHL at only 26, and at that pace he'll have 300 by 32. IMO, what Price needs is a vet backup who's "been there done that" so the kid - yes kid - can develop the mental aspect of his game more. I think Waite is a good step in a positive direction.

I also think Price, when he's on, is the best goalie in the NHL right now. Yes, brash bold commentary, but when he's on his game, is there honestly anyone better? Consistency and mental toughness are all he needs, and that'll come.

I think Price has all he needs here now. He has a vet backup who he gets along with, what more can he ask for? A Cup-winner? Those guys aren't lining up to sit on the bench. The change has to happen in his head, and I agree that Waite should help there. Maybe getting married and being a potential Canada no. 1 will also move him in that direction. The Barasso example is discouraging in that a change of teams probably helped him to mature and reach his potential, something that won't help us.

Waite and an improving team in front of him are my biggest hopes for Price at the moment.

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People rave about Quick, Rask and Thomas, but an elite defense can even make Corey Crawford look like a franchise player. Let's look at Henrik Lundqvist's top-4: Girardi, McDonagh, Del Zotto and Staal. Price: Subban, Gorges, Markov, Diaz. That's one number one, and three number 4's. When Roman Hamrlik is your number one defenseman for a few years, don't bitch about the goalie. He's won one series. That's not good, but neither were the teams around him. He had a once in a lifetime performance against the Bruins, but lost because he had weak offensive support. The depth on that team was so awful Brent Sopel was on the team, and James Wisniewski played on one leg. Until we have Subban playing 25+ minute, Tinordi as a legitimate number two, and Emelin and Beaulieu, the jury is still out on Price.

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I think he made sure to pick a Canadian, and probably thought Price was the best option. I seriously doubt he thinks Price is better than Lundqvist, and maybe had reservations about saying Rask was better (out of spite/gamesmanship).

Again, you're trying to make up reasons for why he thinks that a goaltender is the best. You're not in his head. If he had said Alex Auld was the toughest goalie he's faced I'd still be arguing this. Trying to find the conspiracy in a person's opinion is silly.

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Again, you're trying to make up reasons for why he thinks that a goaltender is the best. You're not in his head. If he had said Alex Auld was the toughest goalie he's faced I'd still be arguing this. Trying to find the conspiracy in a person's opinion is silly.

If he said Auld was the best, then he'd need his head examined, or, ya know, he'd be making a calculated statement to the media. You understand that players might not always be sharing their truest thoughts and feelings, right?

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If he said Auld was the best, then he'd need his head examined, or, ya know, he'd be making a calculated statement to the media. You understand that players might not always be sharing their truest thoughts and feelings, right?

Sure. To immediately call them a liar when they state an opinion is silly.

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Sure. To immediately call them a liar when they state an opinion is silly.

That's stretching my comment. I don't think Gorges is a liar because he's constantly spouting cliches instead of fleshing out his true feelings. It's called being good with the media.

Crosby's very good with the media. You rarely see an entirely genuine moment from him, but you see enough to be satisfied that there's a genuine guy underneath.

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