Boy, this was a strange picture to see on Wednesday night from Las Vegas, wasn’t it?
Carey Price, the Canadiens’ outstanding goalie, with four pieces of hardware in front of him at the NHL Awards ceremony. After a terrific regular season, Price deserved the Hart Trophy (MVP), the Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding as voted on by the players), the Vezina Trophy (best goalie) and one of the William M. Jennings Trophies, which goes to the goalie from the teams that allowed the fewest goals in their conference.
So, yeah, it was a nice haul for Price. And he was clearly uncomfortable with all the praise.
“I’m just truly grateful to be here,” he told NHL.com. “I don’t know what to say. It’s been an amazing experience. This whole season has been just amazing.”
Then Price added the kicker: “There is still one more thing I want to get, though.”
Of course he meant the Stanley Cup, which went to the Blackhawks for the third time in the past six seasons. And that is what colors this scene as so odd.
Somehow, after Price carried the Canadiens all season, it still seems as if he still disappointed in the playoffs. It’s not necessarily true — the Habs lost to the Lightning in a six-game, second-round series, and Price had a 2.23 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 12 playoff games. It wasn’t his fault they lost.
But the goalie is always the one who is looked at. He’s the only player on the team with wins and losses attached to his personal record. He’s the only one who has winning streaks and losing streaks linked to his name — just ask Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers’ netminder who is now 15-4 in elimination games over the past four seasons, just in case you forgot. And those four losses hang over his head.
No matter what Lundqvist does or Price does, no matter how many Vezinas they split between them over the next 10 seasons, the one thing everyone will remember when each of them retires is the number of Stanley Cups they have won.
So all the praise in the world for Price and the way he played during the grind of the regular season. But in 20 years, that picture might still look odd, mostly because it’s missing the trophy that matters most.
The OT change
The NHL Board of Governors approved 3-on-3 overtime this week, and that’s a good, progressive move. I supported the change back in March, but there is one part of it I’d like to point out now.
Colin McDonald, who had played 3-on-3 in the AHL last season, said sometimes it devolves into a slog, with both teams reluctant to take a chance. “I kind of compare it to watching a soccer game, with all that open field,” he said. “Sometimes the game just slows down, it’s all possession and not taking chances.”
That’s the last thing the NHL wants, but be ready for it. There will certainly be 3-on-3 sessions that are non-stop action and odd-man rushes, but my guess is there will be just as many that are impossible to watch.
Can we stop with hyperbole?
Listen, I know we live in a society predicated on hype, but here’s a quick reminder: Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel have played zero NHL games between them. The draft is all about speculation, and often what scouts say is interesting. But possibly the best 1-2 combo since Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, or even Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin? Is there any recognition of how rare that is? Well, maybe I’ll be wrong.
Stay tuned …
… for a flurry of action until about July 5. The hours leading up to the first round of the draft are always the most interesting of the offseason, but once free agency opens on July 1, there should be a lot of action. Going into the draft, there were a couple interesting trade pieces out there, including Phil Kessel and Ryan O’Reilly, and though the free-agency market isn’t packed with big names, almost all the action will take place in those first couple days before the league picks up and goes on vacation for two months.
Parting shot
Most players who win the Lady Byng are nice guys. Most. But after this acceptance speech from the Flames’ Jiri Hudler, I suddenly like him a lot more.