Montreal Canadiens just backed up the Brinks truck to extend Carey Price

Carey Price is living up to his name, netting a monster extension from Montreal.

The Montreal Canadiens have one of the best goaltenders in all of hockey, and are now paying Carey Price as such. Desperate to get back to the Stanley Cup for the first time in over two decades, the Habs ensured Price would be the anchor of those efforts by giving him an eight-year extension on Sunday.

Price’s extension pays him an additional $84 million and bumps his average wage north of $10 million per year. For the time being, it makes him the highest paid player in the NHL when looking at yearly committed salary. That will change when the Edmonton Oilers drop a cargo container full of cash to lock up Conor McDavid for the rest of his hockey life.

It gets better. The $10.5M per season average salary is actually eased by the fact that Price is getting almost all of his extension money up front.

That might seem aggressive but it’s a win-win for all parties involved. Price is getting over 80 percent of his extension money up front, which means it’s a ripping off the band aid situation for Montreal. They have to pay out the nose in what amounts to a one time payment, as the money they pay now is off the books as far as future against the cap numbers are concerned.

All of this and they lock up the best goalie in hockey to continue building potential Stanley Cup contenders around. The Haps made it back to the postseason this year, only to be bounced in the first round. It wasn’t that long ago they were in the Conference Finals against the Rangers, a scenario that could play itself out again this year if things shake out to not favor a three-peat run by the Penguins.

Montreal isn’t perfect, but they have a solid foundation set for the future in locking up Price. It’s what they do from here that will determine the true value of this deal.