Usually, at this time of the year, Carey Price shows up at the Brossard training center with his stern demeanor and his sticks, ready to face the challenge of a new season.
But not this time.
This time, he arrived through one of the large garage doors that opens onto one of the center’s soccer fields. He appeared smiling, and also at the wheel of a new utility vehicle bearing his number, the result of this new partnership with the CFMOTO Canada brand.
A few meters away, towards the rinks, his ex-teammates were preparing for the next camp, with sticks, helmets or skates, all objects which will no longer be part of Carey Price’s daily life.
Because the 36-year-old is preparing for a new life.
“I did this for so long,” he admitted during this advertising press briefing, Tuesday noon in Brossard. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, because it symbolizes a new beginning, a new season. But this is the passage towards my new life. I’m going to be spending quite a bit more time outside; Fall is hunting season, and it’s something I love doing with my family. »
There will be no more stops, therefore, nor victories or ovations, so many little pleasures which have driven him with an undeniable thirst to win since his arrival with the Canadian in 2005. He is not not retired, at least not officially; he remains under contract with the Canadian until 2025-2026, and he must still undergo a physical rehabilitation program as well as medical examinations, which he will have to undergo when camp opens.
But he won’t wear the leggings anymore.
It is a knee injury that follows him and haunts him, again and again, since his last season in the National League, that of 2021-2022. By his own admission, in everyday life it’s okay, but when he has to increase the intensity just a little, it doesn’t work at all.
“I can hold my children and go for a walk without any problem. But if I play in a softball tournament, then my knee starts to swell for two weeks, just because I had to run on the trails. I could go to the Canadiens’ camp and earn a spot with the club… but if my knee swells for two weeks after a softball tournament, I think playing an entire hockey season wouldn’t work. »
Of course, he will be left with the memories of the past, but above all, the moments of the future, which he is already looking forward to experiencing. He will thus be back at the Bell Center during the home opener on October 14, and he would not say no, one of these days, to a position with the team.
He plans to return to the family home in Kelowna, while keeping an eye on this Canadian he loved so much. If he is asked for permission to swap his contract to another club for financial considerations, he will not object. “I’m going to be a member of the Canadiens my whole life, and I’m very proud of that, but I’m ready to help the team in any way I can. If salary needs to be paid to improve the team, I’m here to help. »
Also, he will spend time, a lot of time, adjusting to his new life. Which isn’t always so easy; Monday, during the traditional Canadian golf tournament, he found himself hesitating between the alumni section and the players section at dinner time. “So I went and sat with the coaches…”
He loved doing what he did for 15 years in Montreal. But now the time has come to prepare to love something else.
“There’s not much that can replace that… What I’m going to miss about hockey is playing big games, it’s that nervousness. This side of hockey is going to be difficult to replace…”