Carey Price was traded to the San Jose Sharks on Friday in a move that stunned Habs fans and closed the book on a legendary chapter in franchise history.
Later that day, the Canadiens posted a heartfelt tribute video on Instagram honoring their longtime goaltender with clips from his greatest saves and emotional scenes from his 15-year career in Montreal.
“🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 Merci, Carey #GoHabsGo,” read the caption of the post.
Price’s wife Angela shared the tribute on her own Instagram stories and added three teary-eyed emojis in the caption.
Price hasn’t played since April 2022 due to a serious knee injury and while the trade to San Jose was more of a salary-cap maneuver, it marked the end of his active time with the Canadiens. His $10.5 million cap hit was shifted to the Sharks, while Montreal received defense prospect Gannon Laroque and a 2026 draft pick in return.
Habs GM Kent originally dismissed Carey Price’s trade rumors
Before Friday’s blockbuster move that sent Carey Price’s contract to the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes had publicly downplayed any urgency to make such a deal.
Speaking to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels earlier in the summer, Hughes acknowledged the speculation but insisted that the Canadiens weren’t in a position where they had to unload their franchise goaltender’s $10.5 million cap hit.
“We’re fine. We don’t have to trade Carey Price,” Hughes said. “If we can find a trade to move his contract that makes sense for us and makes sense for another team, we’ll pursue it. But we don’t have to.”
In reality, the contract was far less taxing in real dollars. After Price collected a $5.5 million signing bonus on September 1, only $2 million remained owed for the 2025-26 season. Still, his deal limited Montreal’s flexibility to retool its roster as they continued to search for a second-line center behind captain Nick Suzuki.
Drafted fifth overall in 2005, Price became the face of the Canadiens for more than a decade tallying 361 wins and backstopping the team to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Though his playing career effectively ended after the 2021-22 season due to a severe knee injury, his contract was a part of Montreal’s cap structure until this week’s deal with San Jose.
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Edited by Anjum Rajonno
