This was not supposed to be!!! I do not know where I went wrong, I was absolutely sure the Habs would pull off a miracle and go all the way. What did I missed?
What went wrong? You have to score goals in order to win hockey games. What did you miss? The habs have been struggling to score goals for several years and things were no different in the playoffs.
Carey Price let in a softie for the first Ranger goal which tied the game, but it's extremely unfair to him to expect him to shutout the opposing team(s) constantly in order to win games. This isn't soccer, it's hockey and it seems habs management does not realize this.
At yesterday's press conference, Marc Bergevin firmly stated that there was zero chance he'd trade Carey Price, even if it's for a bonafide #1 center. He added that his goal is to re-sign Carey Price to possibly a lifetime deal. If you want my opinion, this is absolutely ridiculous!! Not a single player is an untouchable. Wayne Gretzky got traded!!! If Gretzky can get traded, then anyone in the history of hockey has a chance of getting traded!
Price will turn 30 in August. He'll be a month short of 31 next season when his current contract will expire. He isn't getting any younger, he has a history of serious knee problems and his best years are behind him. The habs are a team with nothing currently on the farm which will make any kind of impact in years to come. They are one of the worst minor league systems in hockey!! They haven't had a bonafide #1 center in nearly 20 years since Vince Damphousse. Sure, they had Saku Koivu, but he was more of a #2 center. The time to trade Carey Price is now!! Do not wait until the end of the season to trade him since his value will decline as the season progresses. And his value will never be any higher than it is now and it's their only chance to nab a true #1 centre. Galchenyuk's career has declined and his value has never been any lower, meaning he's not the piece required to make a big trade for that center. Neither is Nathan Beaulieu, who's a #5 defenceman at best. And re-signing Carey Price to a long-term contract for $10 to 15 million per season would be ridiculous considering all the problems they have at the forward and defence positions.
Marc Bergevin erred in publicly stating he'd never trade Carey Price, and Carey Price erred in stating yesterday that his goal is to re-sign a long contract with the habs. His agent must have been pulling his hair when he heard that one! Do not give the team any leverage possible!! The player should state his goal will be to finish off his contract and then consider the various offers he'll get, with his current team being among the teams he'd like to play with.
And you know what??? Price and Bergevin's statements may come back to haunt the both of them. They both gave the other camp leverage and it wouldn't surprise me that because of this, Carey Price might very well wind up finishing his contract in Montreal and then wind up signing elsewhere during the offseason in the summer of 2018.