Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who was placed on the long-term injured reserve list in early September, said he has no retirement plan “at the moment” and that he did not want to have another knee operation.
The 35-year-old played five games near the end of the NHL regular season last year, but told reporters Monday at the team’s training center in Brossard, Que., that his rehabilitation ” was unsuccessful” and that another knee operation was successful. rate above 50 percent.
Price first underwent offseason surgery in 2021 following Montreal’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals and subsequent loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He also suffered multiple setbacks during his return to the ice, and during that time enrolled in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program for substance abuse.
“We will have to take it step by step. I have no intention of retiring at the moment,” he said. “Right now my focus is just not to feel any pain day to day. I still have problems going up and down stairs and it’s hard to carry my kids up and down the stairs.
“So my first priority is just to get my body to a place where I’m pain-free in my day-to-day life and go from there.”
WATCH | Price receives a standing ovation before the start of the season for the Canadiens:
Montreal fans warmly welcomed star goaltender Carey Price during the Leafs’ opening ceremony.
Price got a second opinion on his knee injury in Pittsburgh late last season and it was suggested that he have another surgery.
Quality of life
The recommendation left Price uncomfortable and a risk to his overall quality of life. The keeper added he was ‘not a fan’ of the idea and called the procedure ‘intrusive’.
There is a possibility of another injection. … We just have to keep trying to solve a problem, but this operation is a bit worrying for me.— Canadiens goaltender Carey Price on his recovery from persistent knee pain
“The surgery is called OATS,” Price said. “Basically, they take a plug of cartilage and bone from a lower part of your knee and place it in the damaged cartilage area. That’s pretty serious…and from a pessimistic standpoint, it’s like, ‘Well, there’s a 50% chance it couldn’t work or 30% chance or whatever.
“It’s something, unless I have an urgent need to go through my life, that I might consider at that time, but right now I’m watching my young children and playing with them day to day. the day is the most important thing to me.”
For now, Price sees the next step as continuing the rehab he’s already been through. A long and tedious process that has not yet been completed.
“That was the most frustrating part, but I’ve spoken to several people who have had this type of injury and it took them over a year to start feeling normal,” Price said. “So I’m still hopeful. There’s a possibility of another injection, but we’ll have to see. We just have to keep trying to solve a problem, but this operation is a bit worrying for me.”
There are no more spaces in Price’s name in the Canadiens locker room at the Bell Centre. It’s a telling change for veteran players like Brendan Gallagher, who has seen the ups and downs of the team’s recent history alongside Price.
“It’s different looking down and not having him here. He was really the focal point [point] of this team, of this organization for so many years,” Gallagher said. “It’s different, but I’m just lucky to have spent the years I’ve had with him and he’s made me look good many nights. I would never say that to his face but I owe him a couple of them.”
“Gray Zone”
Price considers himself to be in a “grey area” when it comes to making the team. He was presented to a standing ovation at the Bell Center as a non-playing Canadian on the season opener on Oct. 12. The fifth pick in the 2005 NHL Draft said he always tries to find a balance between staying close as an injured player and respecting his teammates’ space.
“Any injured guy will tell you that’s a weird position,” Price said. “You feel like part of the team, but you don’t feel like part of the team.
“I don’t want to be there every day and use resources day to day. These guys come here and they work hard every day. They see coaches every day and I don’t want to hinder their progress. I “I’m not going to be part of that process here this season, so I feel like I’m on the way. I’ll be there, I miss being with the guys.
The Anahim Lake, BC native played in 712 NHL regular season games and 92 in the playoffs, amassing a 2.51 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
At the end of the 2014-15 season, he won the Vézina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.
Price also won a gold medal in 2014 with the Canadian Olympic team in Sochi, Russia.
Slafkovsky undergoing tests for upper body injuries
Canadiens rookie forward Juraj Slafkovsky is being tested Monday for the upper body injury he sustained last week.
The team announced that he would not practice on Monday.
Slafkovsky, 18, is day-to-day and missed Saturday’s game against Dallas with the injury.
The first pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Slafkovsky scored his first career NHL goal in Montreal’s 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
Slafkovsky was named the 2022 Beijing Olympics MVP after scoring a tournament-record seven goals in seven games while representing Slovakia.
He has just five goals and 10 points in 31 games for TPS Turku in the SM Liiga, Finland’s top professional league.