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What will it take for Price to be Canada's starter?


Meller93

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I realize its not the most pressing topic but seeing as the "dog days" of summer seem to be here, I wanted something to talk about.

30 games into last season, I would have said Price has a great shot at starting for team Canada. After a poor end to the season, and a shaky playoff, I'm not sure.

What level will Price need to play ay in order to earn the starting role?

On a side note, great to see a lot of our players earning pre-olympic invites. Galchenyuk would be an awesome surprise to crack the line up.

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As far as I'm concerned the job is Luongo's to lose. Therefore, Price will have to be absolutely rock-solid dominant - and possibly that won't be enough unless Luongo himself looks vulnerable. If that happens, then it'll probably be a situation where Lou gets the start and then the team turns to Price if and when Strombo looks shaky.

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I think Luongo kinda has it right now unless he struggles in Van this year with the circus going on there. Price would have to pay lights out as well. I for one really don't want Price to be the starter for Canada. Sure it would be nice to see but that would just make the games add up and allow him to be fatigued by the end of the season when we really need him in the playoffs.

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I think Luongo kinda has it right now unless he struggles in Van this year with the circus going on there. Price would have to pay lights out as well. I for one really don't want Price to be the starter for Canada. Sure it would be nice to see but that would just make the games add up and allow him to be fatigued by the end of the season when we really need him in the playoffs.

True, but backstopping Canada to Olympic gold could really be decisive in terms of solidifying his self-confidence. I have a suspicion that Price hears this nagging voice in his head - "how am I going to find that 'next level' and become a champion here in the big time? Will I ever??" - and that voice would be stilled once and for all if he won the prize on hockey's biggest stage. You win a championship like that, and it's something you can draw reserves of confidence from going forward. So the long-term benefits to us could be considerable, even if Price does burn out in that particular season.

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so judging from the comments above it appears the price will be starter for gmae 2 since we know luongo can't handle the pressure.

I think Lou can handle th pressure (he did save Canada from Neidermeyer's attempt to hand Team USA the gold medal, y'know). But I seem to remember a bit of a pattern on the big ice, where the Canadians flail around for a couple of games getting adjusted to it - and that's where Luongo will be vulnerable to getting shellacked. That could be Price's opportunity to step in and kick ass.

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True, but backstopping Canada to Olympic gold could really be decisive in terms of solidifying his self-confidence. I have a suspicion that Price hears this nagging voice in his head - "how am I going to find that 'next level' and become a champion here in the big time? Will I ever??" - and that voice would be stilled once and for all if he won the prize on hockey's biggest stage. You win a championship like that, and it's something you can draw reserves of confidence from going forward. So the long-term benefits to us could be considerable, even if Price does burn out in that particular season.

When you look at Price's numbers last season he had two top five months in January and February and followed it up with a below par March and horrendous April. Interesting enough despite a bad season his even strength save percentage was still stronger than Jonathan Quick's. In 39 games Price allowed 66 even strength goals. 33 of them came in the last 17 games. Prior to that, 10 of those even strength goals came from two games against the Leafs and Penguins. Remove those games and in 20 games prior to March 19, Price allowed only 23 even strength goals. That's an excellent number.

Montreal's penalty kill was 23rd last season despite being 2nd and 7th the previous years. He honestly shouldn't listen to any voices. If he goes back to his January/February play and allows less even strength goals and Montreal improves their penalty kill, it's only fitting that his numbers go back to where they should be.

Also, Luongo winning the Gold did nothing to his confidence.

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Price stats need to improve.

Save % pct needs to go up at .920,at least to be in top 15 goalies qualified.

GAA needs not to exceed 2.40.

Needs to make some big saves on tough times.

2010-11 Price would get the starting job.,

Right now Crawford would get it, Luongo the back up.

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When you look at Price's numbers last season he had two top five months in January and February and followed it up with a below par March and horrendous April. Interesting enough despite a bad season his even strength save percentage was still stronger than Jonathan Quick's. In 39 games Price allowed 66 even strength goals. 33 of them came in the last 17 games. Prior to that, 10 of those even strength goals came from two games against the Leafs and Penguins. Remove those games and in 20 games prior to March 19, Price allowed only 23 even strength goals. That's an excellent number.

Saying that his ES save percentage was better than Quick's during the regular season is the essence of cherry-picking stats. So did Scrivens, Ellis, Dubnyk, Garon, Giguere and Varlamov, and a bunch of other not-too-notables. It is well-known that Quick had a poor regular season, but he did manage to turn it around big time in the playoffs (which we can't say about certain others).

Fact is, Price's ES save percentage was 27th in the league among goalies with at least 10 games played. If you remove his bad games it looks better, but that's a game you can play with anyone. Watching those first two months, he was solid but certainly not top 5 - a top 5 goalie steals games and keeps us in ones when we have no business to be, which wasn't happening. The team in front of him was playing well and he was doing enough to win. Then he stopped doing that, and of course couldn't help when we needed a performance from him to even have a chance (which is what a top-5 goalie does).

To me, Price has never been top 5 in the league. When playing well, yes, top 10. He hasn't reached his ceiling yet, we hope. If he puts up years like 2010-2011, we'll be fine.

If Price is in top 10 form, he could easily be Canada's starter, especially after the inevitable game 2 or 3 goalie switch. He threw together that Calder Cup run after winning the World Juniors, so an Olympic win would surely mean a Stanley Cup!

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Guest Stogey24

Saying that his ES save percentage was better than Quick's during the regular season is the essence of cherry-picking stats. So did Scrivens, Ellis, Dubnyk, Garon, Giguere and Varlamov, and a bunch of other not-too-notables. It is well-known that Quick had a poor regular season, but he did manage to turn it around big time in the playoffs (which we can't say about certain others).

Fact is, Price's ES save percentage was 27th in the league among goalies with at least 10 games played. If you remove his bad games it looks better, but that's a game you can play with anyone. Watching those first two months, he was solid but certainly not top 5 - a top 5 goalie steals games and keeps us in ones when we have no business to be, which wasn't happening. The team in front of him was playing well and he was doing enough to win. Then he stopped doing that, and of course couldn't help when we needed a performance from him to even have a chance (which is what a top-5 goalie does).

To me, Price has never been top 5 in the league. When playing well, yes, top 10. He hasn't reached his ceiling yet, we hope. If he puts up years like 2010-2011, we'll be fine.

If Price is in top 10 form, he could easily be Canada's starter, especially after the inevitable game 2 or 3 goalie switch. He threw together that Calder Cup run after winning the World Juniors, so an Olympic win would surely mean a Stanley Cup!

It's hard to tell if price's head is always in the game. I would like to know what his work ethic is like during the off season. I've heard Subban is horse, clearly that has paid off. I just wonder sometimes if Price has that drive to get to the next level. Just my opinion.
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Here we go again with the Carey Price analysis! (But at least Halak's name hasn't come up :nuts: )

But, you know, who can resist? Price is clearly a good goalie and deserves to be in the mix for Team Canada. But Machine's analysis is a classic example of the kind of special pleading that Price has received ever since his career started hitting speed bumps. A 6-year NHL veteran, Price has had exactly one tremendous season from pole to pole (2010-11); he's been in the playoffs five times and only once has his performance avoided being an 'issue' (2011, when he was stellar). He is in no way in the same category as Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick. Stop comparing them, because Price loses that comparison every time.

He also loses the comparison to Luongo, incidentally. People can say that Luongo can't win the big game. That may be fair - but he also backstopped his team to within one game of the Cup and won Olympic Gold while making big saves at key times. Price has nothing comparable on his resumé at the pro level. And it's not just that Luongo has had better teams. Like I say above, Price's performance has been questionable in all but one of his playoffs.

To my mind, then, Price is out of excuses. He is entering his prime years. He needs to step up and deliver, especially when the games matter most - or else he is in danger of becoming Marc-André Fleury, only without the Cup. Don't give me cherry-picked stats. Give me high-end performances in the clutch or else piss off.

OK. That's the 'negative' part of this post.

The 'positive' aspect is that I don't think ALL of the criticisms of Price are fair. For instance, it's common to rag on him for not 'stealing games.' But I don't see Price as a Dominic Hasek type who does that, more of a Marty Brodeur type who, at his best at least, plays an absolutely rock solid, mistake-free, incredibly competent game that gives the team complete confidence. Otherwise put, Price is not about the spectacular save. At his best, he is the type of goalie that a good team can effortlessly ride to a championship, not the Curtis Joseph type of elevates mediocre teams for a couple of playoff rounds. And that's fine with me. The problem is that he has not shown himself reliably able to rise to the level of 'his best' when we need it most.

As for work ethic, I don't know, but everyone around him seems to talk about his desire to win. He may have had a couple of years of figuring out how hard he needed to work, but I have a hard time believing that's still the case.

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I have a good feeling about him actually. Maybe the Olympics will motivate him. We all know how good Price CAN play.

The stress of Montreal might have slowed his learning curve or something. I think he'll get there soon.

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I have a good feeling about him actually. Maybe the Olympics will motivate him. We all know how good Price CAN play.

The stress of Montreal might have slowed his learning curve or something. I think he'll get there soon.

An optimist might say that Price has had his learning process (5-6 youthful years, becoming a man both as a player and as a human being), and that we can expect him to have settled in as a mature hockey player right around that same time that P.K. Subban's Montreal Canadiens mature as a hockey team (e.g., 2-3 years from now). In that sense, the trajectory is perfect.

I think it could go that way. But it could go in other directions too - c.f. M.A. Fleury.

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I have a good feeling about him actually. Maybe the Olympics will motivate him. We all know how good Price CAN play.

The stress of Montreal might have slowed his learning curve or something. I think he'll get there soon.

I'm sure he will be a good to great goalie. My only concern is that it may not be in Montreal.

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He needs to get his head in the game and stop a few pucks. His performance in the last 7 or 8 games was brutal, although he played a decent last game in playoffs before getting hurt. Can't even blame the team, he was getting beat with simple first shots. I really can't believe he was even being mentioned in olympic conversations after that performance.

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He needs to get his head in the game and stop a few pucks. His performance in the last 7 or 8 games was brutal, although he played a decent last game in playoffs before getting hurt. Can't even blame the team, he was getting beat with simple first shots. I really can't believe he was even being mentioned in olympic conversations after that performance.

I think most people saw his struggles and attributed it to a slump at the wrong time, not a sign of things to come. Couple that with the fact there aren't an overwhelming amount of must-have goalies on this team and he had to remain a realistic consideration. If he struggles early on next season like he did back in April, he'll fall out of the conversation quickly though.

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He needs to get his head in the game and stop a few pucks. His performance in the last 7 or 8 games was brutal, although he played a decent last game in playoffs before getting hurt. Can't even blame the team, he was getting beat with simple first shots. I really can't believe he was even being mentioned in olympic conversations after that performance.

Well, Price benefits from playing in a high-profile market, combined with his gold-plated pedigree. He's got a rep. But I think his inclusion also speaks to how bloody good he is when he's on his game. People in hockey see that and understand that 80% of the time this guy is a top-5 NHL goalie. That outweighs the other 20% when he's not; yet it's that 20% that puts his standing as a starter or even backup in doubt. The Price of 2010-11 would be the number one guy without question.

You know, whatever happens in the Olympics, Price may learn a huge amount just from the process. Remember Kirk Muller...he got cut from our World Cup or Canada Cup team (I forget which), and talked about how that failure really motivated him to drive himself further, to really become the elite player he'd believed he was. The Habs were direct beneficiaries of this - he was an absolute stud and surpassed only by Roy as MVP for the 1993 team. Similarly, Mario Lemieux hit another level after playing with Gretzky and company in 1987 and really learning the difference between being great and Great. So no matter how it plays out, we could see a stronger, wiser Price as an end result.

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Price has to have a great first half of the season for the Habs to be considered Luongo's backup and/or to compete for the starting role in Sochi. This means Price needs to rise up and steal some games when the team is struggling to score.

If I were Carey Price, I'd use Henrik Lundqvist as my bench mark. Many times last season the Rangers failed to get many goals on the board, but Lundqvist kept them in it. While it must have been frustrating for the netminder to lose games 1-0 and 2-1, at least he matched the oppositions compete level with his own in hopes that the Rags offense would finally support him.

I also have some concern for Price's health and wouldn't be surprised if he was injured at some point this season. He failed to finish the Habs' last two seasons healthy. Maybe it has to do with luck, maybe it has to do with poor habits. Here's hoping new goalie coach Stéphane Waite can keep him in top shape. At least a shot at the Olympics should give Price all the motivation he needs. And you've got to bet P.K. Subban will be in his hair about it too.

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