Should Carey Price’s jersey be retired?

Of course, there are issues that are more important—socially and politically—than hockey.

We agree.

But the Montreal Canadiens are still an important part of Quebec's culture and history.

The prestigious Flanelle is much more than just a hockey team.

The Canadiens are “part of us,” as the song goes…

So the decision to retire a jersey that belonged to one of its players isn't a trivial matter that concerns only a handful of decision-makers.

It's a decision that will be discussed by hundreds of thousands of people who will often have much, much, much more to say about it than about tax havens, the environment, the three-tiered high school system, the impacts of AI on the workplace and in higher education, internship pay, electoral reform—not to mention Palestine and Ukraine!

From our perspective, only Angine de Poitrine, Donald Trump, the Muslim headscarf, and gender-neutral restrooms might rival the Canadiens in terms of public opinion!

So, what are we to make of this “big question”—whether or not to retire Carey Price's #31 jersey?

Let's get to the facts.

The Hall of Fame Isn't Enough (Obviously)

Unsurprisingly, good old Carey didn't have to wait very long to make his way into the Hall of Fame. He was inducted in his second year of eligibility.

Of course, being in the Hall of Fame is the first requirement that must be met for a jersey to be considered for retirement at the Bell Centre.

But, all things considered, that's roughly equivalent to being able to write your own name as a requirement for admission to CEGEP.

So it's easy to see that having your jersey retired in Montreal is much more prestigious than being inducted into the Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Guy Carbonneau's #21 and Chris Chelios's #24—despite Stanley Cups, great seasons with the Canadiens, individual trophies, and looooong, successful careers—will likely never be hung from the Hall of Fame ceiling.

So let's not even start thinking about Saku Koivu's #11 and Vincent Damphousse's #25, which have consistently been overlooked by the Hall of Fame in Toronto…

The case of another #25, Jacques Lemaire, is however much more interesting:

– An elite center who played between Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt
– A Hall of Famer since 1984
– Scored 835 points in 853 games
– 8 Stanley Cups in 12 seasons
– Probably the best “two-way” center of his era. A forerunner to Patrice Bergeron, Vincent Damphousse, and Nick Suzuki
– One of the top four or five centers in the entire history of the CH (only Jean Béliveau, Howie Morenz, and Henri Richard would currently rank ahead of him…).

So, yes, maybe one day for Lemaire. He deserves it—and preferably while he's still alive.

But let's put aside the case-by-case analysis for a moment and try to identify what the ultimate, decisive criteria should be for the Habs when the time comes for the next jersey retirements.

Does winning the Stanley Cup have to be a necessary and decisive criterion?

According to Renaud Lavoie, yes. In his view, it's THE criterion common to everyone who has had their jersey retired by the Canadiens.

That's not wrong.

But is it the criterion that should still prevail, assuming it was ever a necessary and decisive criterion in the first place?

In my opinion, no. Absolutely not.

Why?

Quite simply because it's a completely ABSURD criterion today!

Hockey is a team sport that's now played in a 32-team league (and soon to be even larger).

If we consider Carey Price, who has never played in a league with fewer than 30 teams, from a purely mathematical standpoint, his chances of winning the Stanley Cup have never exceeded 3% at the start of any season.

By comparison, it was 17% for players in a 6-team league through 1967, between 8% and 6% for those who played in a league with 12 to 18 teams from 1968 to 1978,  and it was still 5% for those who played in the 21-team NHL between 1979 and 1991.

So, even at between 5% and 8%, a player with a 15- to 20-year career during that era had an excellent chance of winning the Stanley Cup.

At 3% or less, we'd be talking about a 30-year career—and even then, just to have an equivalent chance!

So, winning the Cup has clearly become one of the most absurd deciding factors.

To win the big trophy between 2008 and 2021, Price would have had to be MUCH luckier than he was.

And in life, luck generally has little to do with merit.

Unfavorable conditions, sensational statistics

An aging Saku Koivu on his way out, an aging Gomez, a small Desharnais, a Plekanec with average offensive skills, a valiant Danault with even fewer offensive skills, and a very young Nick Suzuki.

One might think that during Carey Price's 14-year reign, the Canadiens had NO season with a true No. 1 center.

NONE!

0 out of 14!

And never a player with more than 80 points in front of him, except during his first season in 2007–2008 (Alex Kovalev, 84 points).

We're certainly not going to compare this to the exceptional historical contexts experienced by Plante and Dryden!

Even Patrick Roy in 1986—and especially in 1993—was in deep water by comparison!

Mediocre teams, generally weak offensively, AND untimely injuries (especially the one caused by Chris Kreider in 2014) have been the most defining factors of Price's career in Montreal.

These circumstances have nothing to do with his talent, since they didn't prevent him from racking up some very impressive personal statistics:

– Career save percentage of 0.917; 9 out of 14 seasons with a save percentage above 0.910
– 5 seasons with 30 or more wins, including a record-breaking 44 wins in 2014–2015, which earned him the titles of the NHL's best player (Hart Trophy), best player as voted by his peers (Ted Lindsay Trophy), and best goaltender (Vézina Trophy).

When trying to place him among the organization's all-time greatest goaltenders, Price occupies a truly enviable position.

He holds the records for:
– The most regular-season games (712) and playoff games (92)—for a total of 804—in a Canadiens uniform.
– The most wins in the regular season and playoffs combined (404).
– The most shutouts in the regular season (49).

He easily belongs alongside Plante, Dryden, and Roy on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest goalies in Montreal history.

And yes, even though he also holds the record for the most losses…

Let's say it again: hockey is a team sport.

A Once-in-a-Generation Goaltender

But above all, beyond his records in Montreal, his national achievements with Team Canada (junior and senior), and his Calder Cup victory as a rookie goaltender in Hamilton in 2007, Price has been regarded by his peers for most of his career as THE best goaltender of his era.

With his style and near-perfect technique, he was THE role model for an entire generation of goalies.

Drafted in the same 2005 draft as Sidney Crosby, and following in the footsteps of Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, and Dominik Hasek, it's safe to say that Carey Price was a once-in-a-generation goaltender.

Nothing less.

He dominated his sport and his position for a very long time with the same team—the only one he ever played for.

Could there be any better reasons for the Montreal Canadiens to retire his jersey one day?

I don't think so.