Habs Report Card - Goaltenders
Carey Price Grade: Incomplete
Expectations were high for Carey Price after his Vezina, Hart, Ted Lindsay, Lou Marsh award winning season a year ago. The questions entering training camp were:
Would he be able to repeat his magic? Could he get to an even higher level of play? Would Price be able to backstop the Canadiens deeper in the playoffs?
Things started off well enough for Price. The Canadiens started the season 9-0 and the offence was providing goal support for their MVP on a consistent basis. Carey Price did not even have to be at his best to help the Canadiens win games. When he injured himself on October 29th in Edmonton, the question became:
Can the Canadiens survive without Carey Price? They did for 3 weeks as Mike Condon held the fort and the team went 5-2-2 during his 1st absence. Unfortunately, they could not survive his second season ending MCL injury when it occurred on November 29th against the New York Rangers. Up until then, Price’s record of 10-2 with a sparkling .934 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average led everyone to believe that he would lead the Canadiens back to the playoffs where maybe, just maybe his teammates would be able to continue to provide goal support. Unfortunately, that dream was crushed as Price’s return to play kept getting delayed until finally the plug was officially pulled on April 6th.
Had Price been able to remain healthy, he likely would have received an A on his report card and as Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said, the Canadiens probably would have made the playoffs as well. The Canadiens missed Price on the ice but perhaps they needed him even more off the ice and in the locker room. His leadership could not be replaced as his calmness was contagious. It is impossible to replace the league’s top goaltender and the Canadiens found that out the hard way.
Mike Condon Grade: B-/C+
I had a hard time deciding whether or not to give Mike Condon a B- or a C+. He was thrown into the lion’s den and did the best that he could to keep the Canadiens playoff hopes alive. Condon was the darling of training camp, stealing the Canadiens backup position from Dustin Tokarski. He was a feel good story, a Princeton graduate who worked his way up through the ECHL and AHL to the NHL. When he played during the preseason he displayed better positioning than Tokarski and sense of calmness in net, similar to Price’s demeanour. Condon was impressive throughout October and November, winning his first NHL start and then keeping the Canadiens afloat through Price’s first injury.
Unfortunately, the magic ran out when Price tore his MCL and the keys to the Canadiens success was handed to Condon. Condon has gotten as far as he has by his strong work ethic and desire to succeed. However, he has never played a full season at any level of play as a club’s designated #1 starter. Condon has always had to share the load be it at Princeton, the ECHL or the AHL. Asking him to play 55 games as the de-facto starter of the Montreal Canadiens was beyond a daunting task. The most Condon had played in a season was the 48 games he appeared with the Hamilton Bulldogs last year. It takes a lot of physical and mental strength to be not just a goaltender but a team’s starter. Condon performed admirably but he appeared fatigued at times and lacked focus at key times. Not to mention Condon did not have a lot puck support as the Canadiens offence ran dry.
Despite that, Condon still found moderate success in his first NHL season. When he played well the Canadiens had a real chance at winning games. In his 21 wins Condon had a .939 save percentage and an incredible 1.79 goals against average. However, in his 25 regulation losses plus 6 overtime losses, Condon struggled with a 3.39 GAA and .877 save percentage. Condon was asked to play over and above his capabilities in his first NHL season. He has shown enough though that he is a more than capable backup and can likely provide 20-25 solid starts in a season backing up a healthy Carey Price. However, he is certainly not ready to be a full-time NHL starter.
Back-up Back-ups: D
Ben Scrivens and Dustin Tokarski had difficulty backing up Mike Condon. Tokarski was out of the Canadiens plans the moment that Condon unseated him as Carey Price’s backup. The team from top to bottom had lost confidence in his ability to win games in the NHL. Tokarski was traded to the Anaheim Ducks to make room for Scrivens shortly after he came to Montreal in the Zack Kassian trade. At 29, Scrivens is a veteran but has never proven himself as an NHL #1 goaltender. The highlight of his season was when he won three games in a row in the month of February and of course when he challenged and messed with Buffalo’s Robin Lehner in his final win of the season. By all accounts Scrivens was an excellent teammate but he was not able to help share the load with Mike Condon.
In non-Canadiens news, the rival Ottawa Senators have hired Guy Boucher as their new head coach and Marc Crawford will join him as an assistant. Many fans were hoping for Bergevin to fire Michel Therrien and hire Boucher who is well deserving of a second chance at coaching in the NHL. Boucher could have been excellent in Montreal with his history coaching P.K. Subban at the World Junior Championships and with the Habs former affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs. He could have been just what Subban needed to reach the next level. Instead, I fully expect Erik Karlsson to get there instead. That is a pretty scary thought for his opponents..
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