Hockey

Should Carey Price have left money on the table?
Marc-Olivier Cook
Should Carey Price have left money on the table?
Credit: Getty Images

Do you remember July 2, 2017? no? That's correct. I don't remember what I did on that day either. But Carey Price, who was at the Bell Centre for the Habs' opening game on Tuesday, must remember very well. Why do I say that? Because that's when he signed his eight-year, $84 million contract with the Canadiens. That's almost ten years ago… I'm telling you about Price's contract today… because colleague Maxime Truman started the debate on the Georges Laraque and Stéphane Gonzalez show on BPM Sports.Max asked the two guys if Price should have done what Lane Hutson did and left money on the table to help the Canadiens… and it turned into a wicked good discussion in the end.

Obviously, there are two ways of looking at this.1. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference in the end. Even if Price's contract took up a large part of the Habs' payroll, there are also some bad contracts that were handed out at the same time. Seeing the Habs save an extra million or two would have been nice… but it's hard to believe it would have changed everything too when you consider the fact that there are other players who were making too much money for their value on the ice.2. If Price had taken that path, maybe others would have followed too. But it wasn't popular to take a discount back then: guys were going to make as much money as they could, no matter what.That said, this is where it could potentially have made a difference. When your best player decides to take less money, it's easier for the others to make the same decision… and we agree that Marc Bergevin would have had more room under his payroll to maneuver as he pleased. Sure, in the end, Price's contract kind of hurt. The salary cap was a lot smaller, the goalie's deal was really impressive… and it handcuffed Marc Bergevin a little in his dealings. But would it really have allowed the Habs to enjoy more success on the ice? That's the thousand-dollar question

'Overtime'

– The editing is sick

– It's normal.

– Hehe.

– Bad news for this Canadiens legend (or not).

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