Retire Carey Price’s number 31: “the answer is very clear”, says Ken Dryden

Although still under contract with the Canadiens, Carey Price is done with hockey. Knee problems forced him to retire after five games in 2022.

Now that his career is officially over, the question is whether he’ll get his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, or whether the Canadiens will retire his number 31 from the heights of the Bell Centre.

Legendary Habs goaltender Ken Dryden revealed on the Serge Savard Invitation thathe believes the Habs should retire the number 31.

Asked if Carey Price should have his jersey retired in the heights of the Bell Centre, legendary Ken Dryden is unequivocal! pic.twitter.com/wVABOwce9p

– RDS (@RDSca) August 13, 2024

When asked by an RDS reporter if he believes Carey Price deserves to have his number retired by the Canadiens, Dryden simply replied that it’s not up to him, but that his answer is very clear.

He then confirmed that his “very clear answer” was positive when he explained to another reporter that he thinks this because he sees Price as “a very, very good goalie”.

The Canadiens took a long time to retire Ken Dryden’s number. Dryden was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, but had to wait until 2007 to see his number 29 retired by the Habs.

If the Canadiens decide to retire Price’s number 31, we hope they will do so more quickly than they did for Dryden.

Dryden hasn’t commented on Carey Price’s nomination for the Hall of Fame, but the debate is just as hot, especially since Shea Weber got his spot in his first year of eligibility.

By following the “Shea Weber rule”, Price could be inducted into the Hall of Fame as early as next year.

And as my colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois explained back in June, if Shea Weber made the Hall of Fame, Carey Price should too!

All that’s left now is to wait for Carey Price’s number 31. We can at least expect that his number will not be retired before the end of his contract in 2026.