Was Canada right to put Carey Price on its World Cup roster?

If there was one common thread in the preliminary roster selections for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, it was that veteran goaltending reigns supreme. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to lead Team Sweden, while the tandem of Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask highlight the list for Team Finland.

Even the Czech team, which boasts a younger squad through the initial roster selections, will have Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes.

The three goalies selected by Team Canada followed that same pattern. But the hockey world went into a bit of a tizzy when the host team’s roster was announced and Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price made the list. Why? Because, well, he has only played 12 games this season due to being sidelined with injury — injury that Habs GM Marc Bergevin told the press in late January had a “slower than expected” recovery time.

Heck, Price just started practicing with goalie equipment on last week.

So here comes the question: Was selecting Price to the initial Team Canada roster a good move?

This isn’t denouncing Price or saying that his MVP abilities are completely gone since being sidelined with a “lower-body injury” at the start of the season. This also isn't forgetting that he only allowed three goals when between the pipes for Team Canada in the Sochi Olympics a couple years ago. But isn’t it a bit presumptuous to put a player who has barely played this campaign, whose recovery has reportedly been “slower than expected”, who is taking shots in practice for the first time since November, on the World Cup roster?  

There is the argument that Team Canada is still in good hands if Price isn’t healthy enough to participate, which is true, since stalwarts Braden Holtby and Corey Crawford were named to the team. Holtby is, as CBC pointed out, the best goalie this season with Price sidelined.

But with that being said, why not make the third netminder someone whom can be counted on to be healthy? Like say, Roberto Luongo — you know, Price’s backup from the Sochi Olympics who was one of the names to not make the initial 16-man roster? (Let’s not get started on all the players who got “snubbed” on Wednesday. That’s a whole other argument.)

It could have something to do with Bergevin being on the Team Canada management team and wanting to give one of his guys an opportunity to participate in the World Cup. According to HockeyInsideOut.com, Price was asked about being part of Team Canada:

After announcing that Price was one of the goalies picked Wednesday, Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney said that the management team had spoken with Bergevin and the goalie before naming him to the roster. Renney added that Bergevin had spoken with the Canadiens’ ownership group to make sure “everybody was comfortable.” 

Renney said about Price: “Obviously, he hasn’t played in a while. Ultimately he said let’s get on that team now and we’ll worry about getting healthy and that’s what he’s doing now. 

“With all of our players, not just these goaltenders, if there is an injury we can address that later on. But when you look at Carey Price, you talk about Carey Price, the best goalie on the planet, the best player in the world last year, represented by his peers and the NHL. So if Carey said he wanted to be on, he was on.”

So they gave Price a say in whether or not he wanted to be included. Giving on of the best players in the game a say in whether or not he participates isn’t that bizarre — heck, it wouldn’t be that surprising if Team Czech kept a roster spot available for Jaromir Jagr until it's right up against the deadline. So, is it then on Price to be healthy since he insisted on having a roster spot from the get-go?

Price said in his first meeting with the media after being named to the team that he is "confident" that he will play again before the current season is over. If that holds true, perhaps a couple games and then a nice, long offseason will get him into shape for the best-on-best tournament. On the flip side, he was only expected to be out about six weeks when he was injured early in the season and is just now potentially making a return in March.

Carey Price is already under a microscope as hockey fans wait to see if he is healthy enough to play for the Habs again this season. That attention is only going to intensify now as we wait to see if he’ll be healthy enough to participate in Toronto in late September.