Priceless

Carey Price has become a legend in Montreal - and the hobby.

- Stephen Laroche

THE Montreal Canadiens have had many great goaltenders protect the crease over the years. From the pioneering days of Georges Vezina, to the innovation of Jacques Plante, and the quiet contemplation of Ken Dryden to the mastery of Patrick Roy, a great goalie always seems to make an impact and become a part of the franchise fabric.

In the case of Carey Price, he is certainly the latest in the line of legendary Canadiens netminders. Now in his 10th season with the team, he certainly has some impressive accolades to his credit and he has long been one of the most popular players with hockey card collectors.

Back in 2014-15, Price enjoyed the greatest season of his career to date, leading the Habs to 44 regular season victories while finally winning both the Vezina Trophy and the Hart Trophy. That year, he hit the 200-win mark and shared the Jennings Trophy with Chicago’s Corey Crawford.

Everything looked promising in the early stages of the 2015-16 campaign as well, with Montreal being regarded as an early Stanley Cup favorite before those hopes were derailed by a knee injury. At the time, he had a sparkling 10-2-0 record. As the originally-anticipated weeks on the shelf turned to months, the team’s hopes for its first title since 1992-93 faded into oblivion as other talents were forced out of the lineup.