Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was in town this weekend for the Cummings Center Charitable event, where he was honoured as the sportsperson of the year. A few members of the press were in attendance, including Tony Marinaro, and he didn’t miss the opportunity to record a special episode of The Sick Podcast.
Not only was he able to chat with Price, but he also got a few minutes with former player, general manager, and coach Bob Gainey. While the chat with Price was interesting, it was Gainey who truly stole the show.
Canadiens Farm Team Cuts Players Loose
Canadiens: Potential First-Round Pick – Jackson Smith
Canadiens: Hutson Won’t Have To Be Demidov’s Chauffeur Anymore
Marinaro took Price down memory lane when he was just a 19-year-old kid who joined the Hamilton Bulldogs for a magical playoff run in the AHL to kick off his professional career, asking him if he had any advice for Jacob Fowler, who’s going through the same situation right now. The goalie replied that he was just amazed to be realizing his dream at that point and that his advice to the rookie was to enjoy the ride, because he wished he could do it all again.
The host also asked him how he would feel if his jersey was to be raised to the rafters with the legendary players who donned the Sainte-Flanelle, and they always even-keel netminder replied:
I think every player who’s played a long time dreams of a moment like that, but people often ask me what I’m most proud of throughout my NHL career and I always answer the same way; it was to be the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender for 15 years and to do that is more than a big enough honour for me.
For those who are still hoping to see Price make a miraculous comeback, it won’t happen. The almost-retired player explained that sometimes he feels like he could still play, but that he’s not at an NHL level anymore. He’s fine when he’s just skating, but the lateral movements and the strain on the legs that come with playing goal wouldn’t work with his knee anymore.
For me, the big reveal of the show was when Gainey took Marinaro to the 2005 draft, when the Canadiens were set to pick fifth overall, just after the Minnesota Wild, and explained that the Hockey outfit had picked the player the Habs had at the top of their list: Benoit Pouliot.
Habs fans everywhere should thank the Wild on that one. Pouliot went on to play in 625 NHL games with seven NHL teams (including Montreal) and picked up 263 points in the process. He wasn’t a bad player, but it’s fair to say Minnesota would likely have taken a do-over of that draft.
According to Gainey, Price could also have been a member of the St. Louis Blues. When the Missouri outfit came knocking after the 2010 Halak Spring, they weren’t after Jaroslav Halak; they wanted Price, but Pierre Gauthier told them they could only have Halak.
One has to wonder what the Canadiens would have looked like if Pouliot had been drafted in 2005 or if they stuck with Halak in 2010; we’ll never know, but those would have been franchise-altering moments.
Photo credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Read the full article here
