He will be away from the team for a minimum of 30 days, that being the duration of the program, but Habs GM Marc Bergevin said his absence "could be longer", as he will still have to deal with issues arising from this summer's surgery, and also get himself into game shape.
The player assistance program is available to players suffering from issues such as substance abuse and mental health. Carey Price has never been the subject of the slightest rumour about problems with alcohol or drugs, but has appeared, from time to time to be distracted or somehow not fully engaged with the game, so may well have emotional problems, which wouldn't be surprising considering the constant stress of carrying a frankly mediocre team on is back.
Price's wife, Angela, hinted at emotional problems, when she posted a personal message on Instagram to express the importance of putting mental health first. "No matter what is on the line, we hope we can communicate the importance of putting your mental health first not just by saying it, but by showing up and doing the work to get better," she wrote yesterday. "Carey's showing up for himself and our family and making the absolute best decision possible for us."
The problem is certainly more than just recovery from off-season knee surgery and what head coach Dominique Ducharme had described as a non-COVID-related illness that kept him away from training camp Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. MM Ducharme and Bergevin met with the media at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard shortly after the announcement was made. Here's some of what they had to say.
"Today," the GM said, "I’m not thinking about Carey Price, the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, but Carey Price the human being." All of us at WWW share those sentiments, and wish Carey a speedy recovery. Maybe it's a bit flippant to say, "Don't worry! Be happy!", but that's how we feel. We're with you, Carey, all the way!
But still... we can't help but think of the old line "The price is right." Canadians of a certain age may recall it as the strapline of ads for a chain of supermarkets. Americans will remember it as the name of a dumb TV game show. But in the case of the Canadiens, if the Price (Carey) is not right, their prospects for hockey success look rather dim, and that's how it appears this morning.
Last night the Habs played their sixth and (mercifully) last pre-season game, losing 5-4 to the Ottawa Senators in a shootout. Their pre-season record was 2-3-1 -- .416 in baseball terms -- at which rate fans can expect a pretty sad season, with no chance of their making the 2022 playoffs.
The Canadiens lost two key players during the summer. Captain Shea Weber, who played hurt for a good part of last season, is out for all the coming season while doctors and therapists try to rebuild his worn-out body. He will be sorely missed. The team's best centre, Phillip Danault, couldn't agree with Bergevin on a new contract, so went to Lalaland, leaving a big gap in both the offence and the penalty kill.
When you lose key players, you hope that you will see some new talent -- players acquired in the off-season, or promoted from the AHL farm team, or rookies coming up from junior -- who can be slotted into the vacant positions. Just wind `em up and watch `em play. Over the last month I saw lots new faces and numbers, but not a lot of talent.
To make matters worse, the club's infirmary is SRO, with several established players unable to answer the bell for opening night next week. Here"s how things look as Canadians head into the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Goal: Carey Price and Jake Allen were spozed to be Goalies 1A and 1B. Now there's just Allen, with the putative backup, Cayden Primeau, appearing "not quite ready for prime time". Samuel Montembeault has been picked up from Florida on waivers, but on paper looks like a stop-gap at best.
Defence: At the close of this year's Stanley Cup finals, the Habs had four (4) reliable blue-liners: Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson. Edmundson is on the sick list, which leaves Petry and Chiarot. How long can Petry -- horse that he is -- continue to play 25+ minutes per game? What do do about last year's great rookie hope, Alexandre Romanov, who has yet to live up to expectations? Who's down in Laval that might be able to help? No names spring to mind.
Forwards: Les Glorieux really need at least one top-line centre, preferably a big one. Fan favourite Nick Suzuki is getting better at the faceoff dot, but still struggles on defence. Jonathon Drouin, returning after missing the last half of last season in a situation (possibly) similar to that of Carey Price, hasn't yet appeared to be "back to normal". Besides, he's not a great centre, plays better on the wing. Jake Evans is game enough but a bit fragile. He suffered a concussion in last year's playoffs, and got the stuff knocked out of him last night. Newcomer Christian Dvorak looks OK, but will need to find some chemistry with his new teammates.
The good news is that the problem up front appears to just at centre. The Habs' top goal-scorers are all back, looking healthy and ready to play. Josh Anderson impressed with three goals in the pre-season. Brendan Gallagher looks set to the new captain on the ice, even if he doesn't get to wear Weber's "C". Nick Suzuki still has the scoring touch, and Cole Caufield, still technically a rookie, is a rocket ready to explode. Tyler Toffoli could hit 30 goals this year, and old pros Arturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia are in form.
That's seven guys (or maybe eight, if Drouin conquers his nerves) who can put the puck in the net. The question is, can they average 4 goals or more per game, because that's what it's going to take to offset a defence which is probably going to allow 3... or more. The Canadiens will open the regular season next Wednesday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. As Walt would say... stay tuned!
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