What initially started out as a “minor… lower-body injury that was supposed to keep Carey Price out of the lineup for only a week has left fans and members of the media wondering just how severe it really is. It’s been reported that Price has left town in order to seek a second medical opinion, which could signal that the injury is worse than at least Price believes it to be. Evidently, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what he’s doing, and it’s backed by the NHL players’ collective agreement.
We all know what that means for the Montreal Canadiens: Mike Condon will continue to add to his winning ways by playing a few more games until the situation with Price is resolved. I’m sure if you asked Condon, he’d wish a speedy recovery to his counterpart, but is relishing the opportunity to help the team win.
And who can blame him? Most number one goalies in the NHL were once backups, and eventually earned themselves the roles as starters. Deep down, Condon must be hoping that he will eventually follow the same path and be the go-to guy for a team, whether that’s the Montreal Canadiens or not. Either way, he’s on the right path; he’s got the right size and skillset, and seems to have the right mentality and attitude. At 25 years of age, he’s a little older than most rookies, yet his maturity and calm demeanor will aid him as he slowly enters his prime.
If it turns out that Carey Price requires surgery or should miss game action for an extended period of time, are the Habs truly confident that Condon is the man to help them maintain their success? They’ve repeated several times, on the record, that they have full confidence in him and themselves when he’s between the pipes. Isn’t that exactly what they said about Dustin Tokarski when Price went down with an injury against the New York Rangers during the eastern conference finals? We all know what happened afterwards, though it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly led to Tokarski’s downfall.
He’s been recalled to act as Condon’s backup, and if Price is still out next week, Tokarski might get a chance to play against the New York Islanders as Condon would more than likely start against the Arizona Coyotes the previous night.
Frankly, I’m not concerned with whether or not the team will do fine without Carey Price. They’ve proven this year that they’re significantly more than their goalie, as Condon has not needed to be outstanding in his 6-0-1 record. After all, he certainly would not be the first goalie to take the starter’s place in the past few years…
Last year, Cam Talbot did very well in replacing an injured Henrik Lundqvist, and earned himself the number one role for the Edmonton Oilers. Andrew Hammond was the driving force behind the Ottawa Senators’ amazing run last season, replacing the injured and underachieving Craig Anderson.
Corey Schneider gave Roberto Luongo a run for his money during their stint in Vancouver, and Schneider ended up getting a contract with the New Jersey Devils. If you go back further, the Carolina Hurricanes depended on Martin Gerber until rookie goaltender Cam Ward came in and led the team to a Stanley Cup. The tandem of Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov with the Anaheim Ducks are what helped secure a Stanley Cup win as well, with Bryzgalov replacing Giguere while the latter was injured.
I’m not saying that Mike Condon is going to replace Carey Price- I’m no fool. I believe that the two together can compliment each other well. We’ve seen what Condon is capable of doing thus far, and it’ll be very interesting to see just how far he can ride this hot streak.
After all, you never know; maybe Dustin Tokarski wil find his form and remind everyone of why he replaced Peter Budaj two years ago…
EDIT: Michel Therrien held a press conference minutes ago to give an update on Carey Price’s status.
Essentially, Price was not responding as expected to the medical treatment that he was receiving for his lower-body injury. Details on what this injury specifically consists of were not revealed, as Therrien stated that it’s not something he necessarily wants to reveal to the other teams and the competition.
Price was the one who was concerned for his progress, and so made the trip to New York yesterday in order to get a second medical opinion. The good news is that the diagnosis was the same, and he will continue his treatment and rehabilitation for at least another week. This means that he will not play this week, although he is making the annual father-son trip this week.