Montreal Canadiens win big with Carey Price contract extension

The Montreal Canadiens and Carey Price have reached an agreement on an eight-year, $84 million contract. This is the type of money you give to a goalie you believe to be the best in the league.

The Montreal Canadiens and Carey Price have come to an agreement on an eight-year, $84 million contract today. While this might seem like crazy money for a singular player, the Canadiens made the right decision in securing the services of Price for likely the remainder of his career.

Price will finish up the final season of his six-year, $39 million contract before his salary takes a $4 million jump in the 2018-19 season. This new contract extension will make Carey Price the highest paid goaltender in the NHL, surpassing Henrik Lundqvist who is making $8.5 million per season.

This is a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens. For a goalie who has a proven track record, 270 career wins, a .920 career save percentage, and 39 career shut outs, this is a great move. While it won’t affect the cap space they have today, currently at $15 million, it still allows the Habs some wiggle room over the next year to make some signings and re-signings and still not be in the hole from a $10.5 million contract.

It is undeniable that an elite goalie can make a good team into a Stanley Cup contender, and this is what Price does for the Canadiens. With the ability to still make roster moves, it is up to the Canadiens to use what money they have left over to bring back the strong core from the past season, and add some depth to their roster possibly.

The one downside to this contract extension with Price is the amount of money the Canadiens will have tied up in a small amount of players. To put it into perspective, the Habs currently have $53 million in cap space tied up to 14 players for the 2018-19 season, when the $4 million salary jump will take place.

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However, with a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender in between the pipes, and the salary cap making somewhat modest jumps each year, this could very well turn into a very smart deal for Montreal. Securing a goaltender like Price until he is 38-years old ensures that goaltending won’t be any sort of issue for the foreseeable future, barring any unforeseen circumstances. And with that worry put to bed, it allows the organization to shift their focus to the men in front of Price.

If Price can continue to perform as he has over the course of his career in Montreal, there is every reason to believe that this is a huge win for the Canadiens. And while $10.5 million is a ton of money to spend on one goalie, it is a smart move by Marc Bergevin & Co. to ensure the Canadiens are Stanley Cup Contenders for the better part of the next decade.