Canadiens’ Carey Price looks like he’s close to returning

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Carey Price took part in a full practice with the Canadiens Monday at the Bell Center and he looked good.

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Very good.

“He always looks good to me,” teammate Brendan Gallagher said after practice, which included a fast-paced mini three-on-three game. “If you’re wondering if I scored on him, the answer’s no, so he’s ready to go. He’s been working hard, he’s eager to go.”

Head coach Martin St. Louis said he has no idea when Price might be able to make his season debut after off-season knee surgery. But the goalie certainly looks like he’s getting close.

“I thought today he looked good, but I’m not focusing on every rep that Carey takes,” St. Louis said. “When you’re running a practice — especially when you have the whistle and stuff — sometimes you’re just focusing on so many things but the shot that’s going to be taken on Carey. But I know from what I saw today, what I noticed, I thought he looked pretty good.”

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Fellow goalie Jake Allen thought Price looked great.

“Smooth,” Allen said. “He always looks smooth. He’s got that natural ability within himself that he’s always had. He looks good out there. It’s obviously been a long year for him. He’s worked hard to get back to here, where he is. He looks good. I know he’s going to push as hard as he can to get back here as soon as possible and get a few games in before the end of the year. We’re looking forward to seeing him back. I know I’m looking forward to it for him and I’ll be excited for him when he gets back in the net.”

The Canadiens only have 13 games left this season, starting with Tuesday’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Center (7 pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). Allen is expected to start for the ninth time in the last 10 games.

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The 34-year-old Price has four more seasons remaining on his eight-year US$84-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $10.5 million. At this point, the best-case scenario for the Canadiens seems to be that Price gets healthy enough to be the No. 1 goalie to start next season with Allen as his backup for him. It’s hard to imagine any other teams are interested in picking up the remainder of Price’s contract in an off-season trade — even if the Canadiens are willing to eat 50 per cent of it. Price also has a full no-movement clause and would have to sign off on any trade.

At this point, it might also make sense to just shut Price down until next season, but Allen understands why he wants to play.

“I don’t think anyone would have blamed him if he packed it in for the year,” Allen said. “He’s tried and tired and tried, but I knew he wasn’t going to pack it in. I knew he wanted to play. He’s reaffirmed me that he wanted to play. He’s pushed the limits as much as he possibly could. I think there’s probably a lot of people on the outside that thought he was done for the year. But I knew he was going to come back.

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“Whether he plays five games or three — I don’t know? Whatever it is,” Allen added. “But I think it’s just that mindset behind it that he is a competitor and if I was in his shoes I’d want to do the same thing. I wouldn’t want to go five months (during the off-season) sitting there and wondering: Do I still got it, or what’s the deal here? This whole crazy season that we’ve had, he’s had some ups and downs and now he’s going to get a chance to prove that he’s still the Carey of Carey.”

Allen, who has one more season left on his two-year, US$5.75-million contract, believes Price can play a key role in the Canadiens’ rebuilding process going forward with a group of young defensemen.

“You can’t bring a guy in, you can’t have someone fill shoes like Carey can,” Allen said. “From a hockey standpoint, we understand how good of a goalie he is. But from experience, leadership, longest-tenured Canadian here within the city, the organization, the respect that he gains within that room is probably irreplaceable, to be honest. I don’t really know how you’ll be able to find someone who will replace him. So I think it’s really important. Obviously, this year’s been tough for him, not being around the guys as much as he’s wanted, especially on the road. But I think coming back here now you can see he’s got a bit more pep in his step from him, excited to get back and go out there and battle for the few games left that we have with the guys. I’m looking forward to seeing him back in the net.”

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