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Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Making the Case for Carey Price as a First-Ballot Hall of Famer

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By William Bourget | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 1:50 PM ET

The 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Tuesday, and for the first time, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, and Carey Price are eligible for induction. While each player made their mark on the NHL, here’s a look at Carey Price’s case to be inducted in 2025. Here’s a look at what he accomplished, and how he did it, consistently, loyally, and often carrying the weight of a franchise on his shoulders.

Price’s Career of Excellence

Price was selected 5th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, a bold pick that would go on to define the next era of the storied franchise. In 712 career NHL games, all with Montreal, Price posted a 361-261-79 record, along with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He is the winningest goaltender in Canadiens history, ahead of Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, and Patrick Roy.

What made Price so special wasn’t just the numbers, though. It was his calm demeanour. His technical mastery, positional discipline, and poise in pressure situations made him the backbone of a team that too often relied on him to cover up flaws elsewhere. There were seasons when Price almost single-handedly kept the Canadiens in the playoff race. Opponents feared him, teammates trusted him, and fans revered him.

A Historic NHL Trophy Haul

While Price never hoisted the Stanley Cup, his individual accolades rival any goaltender of the modern era. His 2014-15 campaign remains one of the most dominant single seasons by a goalie in NHL history, winning the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed, the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player voted by his peers, and the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, an extremely rare achievement for a goaltender.

Only five players in NHL history have ever won both the Hart and Vezina in the same season: Jacques Plante (1961-62), Dominik Hasek (1996-97, 1997-98), Jose Theodore (2001-02), Price (2014-15) and Connor Hellebuyck (2024-25).

Price’s success extended far beyond the NHL. He helped Team Canada win gold at the World Junior Championship in 2007, backstopped Team Canada to Olympic gold in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, was named the tournament’s best goaltender, and followed that up with a World Cup of Hockey win in 2016, making him one of the few players to win all major international tournaments.

The Stanley Cup That Got Away

For many, the fact that Price never won a Stanley Cup could mean his Hall of Fame induction will be delayed by a year or two, especially in a year with other slam-dunk candidates like Thornton and Chara. But that he never won a championship should not overshadow his greatness.

In 2021, at age 33, with knees that had begun to betray him, Price put together one of the most inspiring playoff runs in recent memory. He carried a young and flawed Canadiens team to the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Vegas Golden Knights before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a reminder of how dominant he could be when the lights were brightest.

Unfortunately, his loyalty to the Canadiens, while admirable, meant he never had the supporting cast that many of his peers enjoyed. While teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and Los Angeles Kings built Cup winners around elite defensemen and top-end centers, Montreal too often failed to give Price the same foundation. The front office never capitalized on his prime, and much of his brilliance was spent masking roster deficiencies instead of celebrating postseason success.

Is Price a First-Ballot Hall of Famer?

The question isn’t whether Price will get into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s when. Some voters may hesitate because of a shorter peak than others. They might look at his final seasons, plagued by injury and reduced playing time, and argue he lacked the longevity of other candidates or inductees. But doing so would miss the point of what made Price so remarkable.

He was one of the most technically sound and consistently elite goaltenders of his generation. He won everything except the Cup, dominated on the international stage, and carried a franchise with unmatched pressure for over a decade. He was a difference-maker, a game-changer, and the face of not only the Canadiens but of the NHL during his peak. When Price was in net, the Canadiens always had a chance.

Price’s career deserves recognition among hockey’s all-time greats. Whether or not he gets the Hall of Fame call this Tuesday is out of his hands, but his case is as strong as any goaltender who came before him. First ballot or not, he will be inducted eventually, but based on his career achievements, international pedigree, and unique impact on the game, he shouldn’t have to wait too long.