On Saturday the Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens from the playoffs. Now a good portion of this was the fact the Canadiens just played like crap the whole playoffs, but really the most responsible person was rookie goalie Carrie Price. Price let in weak goal after weak goal, which allowed the Boston Bruins to take the Canadiens to seven games and the Flyers to win the series.
Now, this isn’t a Price bashing post, not even close. But it just goes to show what many fans and analysts said at the trade deadline when Canadiens GM Bob Gainey traded away starter Cristobol Huet for a second round pick because he was afraid to lose him for nothing in free agency: it’s a big mistake. Gainey said he had the utmost confidence in Price to get the job done, which obviously wasn't the case. Gainey is now getting a ton of flak for this and rightfully so.
Since not everyone is a hockey fan, let me give you a bit of a rundown. Huet is a starting goalie due to be an unrestricted free agent so he can sign with any team this summer. Price is the Canadien’s goalie of the future and played well this year. Instead of losing Huet for nothing as it was certain he was going to be let go, Gainey instead dealt him for a measly second round pick when most starting goalies go for at least a first rounder. So not only did they deal him away, they dealt him for close to nothing.
But that’s not it. See, the Canadiens finished first overall in the Eastern Conference. Now, if you're a team on the bubble, I can see making this deal. If you’re out of the playoffs, I agree with it. But when your team is first in the conference and you have a legitimate shot at winning the championship, YOU DO NOT TRADE YOUR EXPERIENCED GOALIE AND GO WITH A 20 YEAR OLD ROOKIE IN THE PLAYOFFS! It’s just mind boggling to me that a GM would do this. At that moment you put all the pressure on the rookie goalie to carry the team, which of course is going to get to him and the Canadien’s coach even said publicly the goalie was rattled.
So what happened when Price faltered? The Canadiens lost. They went with their backup in game four who while he faired better, wasn't good enough to turn things around, meaning they were out of options. And what did Huet do? Well he was able to give the Washington Capitals a legitimate shot at winning their first round series, but alas the team was just too weak and inexperienced to do so. That and the Flyers discovered if you shut out Alex Ovechkin the team was a sitting duck cause he was the team. When Price faltered the Canadiens would have loved to have Huet for that round.
Now, it’s no guarantee that Huet would have won them anything, or even played well. But it wouldn’t have put the pressure on Price to carry the team. This isn’t some megastar forward like Crosby or Ovechkin, it’s the goalie, and in hockey if your goalie isn’t good, you aren’t winning. Period.
So let this be a lesson to everyone. If you have a legitimate shot at winning the championship and you are guaranteed to be in the playoffs, you do not trade an important cog because you are afraid of losing the player for nothing during free agency. The Canadiens are gone, and had they Huet to lean on, at the very least they wouldn’t have been so embarrassed during their final series.
Now, this isn’t a Price bashing post, not even close. But it just goes to show what many fans and analysts said at the trade deadline when Canadiens GM Bob Gainey traded away starter Cristobol Huet for a second round pick because he was afraid to lose him for nothing in free agency: it’s a big mistake. Gainey said he had the utmost confidence in Price to get the job done, which obviously wasn't the case. Gainey is now getting a ton of flak for this and rightfully so.
Since not everyone is a hockey fan, let me give you a bit of a rundown. Huet is a starting goalie due to be an unrestricted free agent so he can sign with any team this summer. Price is the Canadien’s goalie of the future and played well this year. Instead of losing Huet for nothing as it was certain he was going to be let go, Gainey instead dealt him for a measly second round pick when most starting goalies go for at least a first rounder. So not only did they deal him away, they dealt him for close to nothing.
But that’s not it. See, the Canadiens finished first overall in the Eastern Conference. Now, if you're a team on the bubble, I can see making this deal. If you’re out of the playoffs, I agree with it. But when your team is first in the conference and you have a legitimate shot at winning the championship, YOU DO NOT TRADE YOUR EXPERIENCED GOALIE AND GO WITH A 20 YEAR OLD ROOKIE IN THE PLAYOFFS! It’s just mind boggling to me that a GM would do this. At that moment you put all the pressure on the rookie goalie to carry the team, which of course is going to get to him and the Canadien’s coach even said publicly the goalie was rattled.
So what happened when Price faltered? The Canadiens lost. They went with their backup in game four who while he faired better, wasn't good enough to turn things around, meaning they were out of options. And what did Huet do? Well he was able to give the Washington Capitals a legitimate shot at winning their first round series, but alas the team was just too weak and inexperienced to do so. That and the Flyers discovered if you shut out Alex Ovechkin the team was a sitting duck cause he was the team. When Price faltered the Canadiens would have loved to have Huet for that round.
Now, it’s no guarantee that Huet would have won them anything, or even played well. But it wouldn’t have put the pressure on Price to carry the team. This isn’t some megastar forward like Crosby or Ovechkin, it’s the goalie, and in hockey if your goalie isn’t good, you aren’t winning. Period.
So let this be a lesson to everyone. If you have a legitimate shot at winning the championship and you are guaranteed to be in the playoffs, you do not trade an important cog because you are afraid of losing the player for nothing during free agency. The Canadiens are gone, and had they Huet to lean on, at the very least they wouldn’t have been so embarrassed during their final series.
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