Canadiens’ trade with Sharks one last huge save from Carey Price

MONTREAL — In a just world, Carey Price would’ve finished his career as a Montreal Canadien.

In an ideal one, he’d have been backstopping the only team he’d ever played for through the entirety of the eight-year, $84-million contract he signed back in July of 2017.

But the franchise goaltender was traded, along with a 2026 fifth-round pick, to the San Jose Sharks on Friday, and that move represented one last big save Price made for the Canadiens.

Yes, he stopped making them on the ice in April of 2022, when the accumulated damage to his knee, which was caused over his 804-game NHL career, proved too painful to continue playing through.

But even if it’s a technicality, Price waived his no-movement clause to enable the Canadiens to trade the final year of his contract to the Sharks, and he helped them free up $4.57 million in cap space by doing so.

The Canadiens came into the day nearly $6 million over the NHL’s salary cap, but they’ve now gained the type of financial flexibility they haven’t had over the majority of the 2020s. It’s been years of complex cap management borne of operating in long-term injury reserve, but assistant general manager and capoglogist John Sedgwick will no longer have to do that.

Had Price’s contract remained on the Canadiens’ books, that wouldn’t be the case.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens have 43 pro contracts on their books, leaving them space to add seven more between now and the end of the season. They have a full roster, they can retain salary in upwards of three trades between now and July, and they can watch that $4.57 million of extra space grow with each passing day of the regular season.

It means if a second-line centre becomes available down the line, the Canadiens will be in a much better position to trade for that player.

Or maybe they’ll use their newfound space in other ways between now and the NHL trade deadline.

Either way, it’s money that would’ve been practically impossible to come by without Price allowing his contract to be traded Friday.

The 38-year-old, who was chosen fifth overall in 2005, leaves the Canadiens as the franchise leader in games started (700) and wins (361). He was the best player to wear their fabled sweater over nearly the entirety of his 15 years in uniform — an Olympic gold medalist, World Cup Champion, and Hart, Vezina, Jennings, and Ted Lindsay Award winner — and he will surely be honoured in Montreal for that someday.

It would’ve been nice had it happened after Price finished out his contract and hung up his skates.

But the Canadiens’ jersey will remain the only NHL sweater he’ll have ever played in, and even from the sidelines, he came up huge for the franchise once again.