The words perseverance, dedication and team spirit define the Bill-Masterton Trophy. Carey Price embodied those values this season by working hard to return to the game in the final stages of a non-action season.
• Also read: Guy Lafleur: unforgettable meeting for disabled children
Price has come a very long way before his April 15 return. Having knee surgery on July 23, two weeks after the Canadian’s five-game elimination against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Finals, the No. 31 was expected to be out for a period of 10 to 12 weeks.
According to the doctors’ initial plan, the Anahim Lake goalkeeper was only expected to be absent for a few games at the start of the season. But the plan was quickly derailed.
He did not recover quickly due to the sudden movements required of a goalkeeper and a serious medical history.
Price also decided to tackle another big issue, that of his mental health. Price also showed courage by signing up for the NHL and NHLPA’s assistance program in October to help combat a substance abuse problem. The change apparently forced him to take a break from rehabilitation.
A dangerous return
Price put a major doubt out of his mind by making a comeback 282 days after his last game this season. In four starts, No. 31 suffered four losses and had 4.04 goals against average and an .853 save percentage.
Price has been solid in his first two games against the New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild and has conceded six goals each in his last two games against the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators.
If his mission was to prove he was 100% recovered, he replaced a doubt with his own sanity and that of his coaches by retiring from visiting the Boston Bruins during Sunday’s tribute to Guy Lafleur, rather than from it attended the team’s next scheduled trip to New York on Wednesday.
good candidates
Chosen by the Montreal Chapter of the Association of Professional Hockey Writers (PHWA) to represent the Habs in the final ballot, Price competes against 31 other players, one candidate for each of the 31 other NHL teams.
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Zdeno Chara (Islanders), Kyle Okposo (Sabres) and Kevin Hayes (Flyers) receive multiple votes for this trophy. Quebecer Anthony Duclair (Florida Panthers) is also one of the elected officials. A vote will be taken among the 32 candidates to reduce this list to three finalists.
The winner of the trophy will be announced after the playoffs at the annual NHL Awards Gala.
Flyer paint holder Oskar Lindblom received the 2020-21 honor.
The other 31 candidates
Anaheim: Ryan Getzlaf
Arizona: Andrew Ladd
Boston: Jake Debrusk
Buffalo: Kyle Okposo
Calgary: Chris Tanev
CarolineAntti Raanta
Chicago: Dylan Strome
Colorado: JackJohnson
Columbus: Justin Danforth
Dallas: Tyler Seguin
Detroit: Marc Staal
Edmonton: Kris Russell
Florida: Anthony Duclair
Los Angeles: Blake Lizotte
Minnesota: Jared Spurgeon
Nashville: Mark Borowiecki
New Jersey: Nico Hischier
Long Island: Zdeno Chara
New York: Chris Kreider
Ottawa: Anton Forsberg
Philly: Kevin Hayes
Pittsburgh: Brian Boyle
St. Louis: Vladimir Tarasenko
San Jose: Brent Burns
Seattle: Jaden Schwartz
Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn
Toronto: Ondrej Kase
Vancouver: Luke Schön
Vegas: Jack Acorn
Winnipeg: Josh Morrissey
Washington: Nicklas Backstrom