Canadiens have no 'clarity' on status of goalie Carey Price

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last July and then entered the NHL/NHL Players' Association player assistance program due to substance use in October. The 34-year-old experienced a setback that caused him to restart his knee rehabilitation in January, but he was ultimately able to make his 2021-22 debut in April. 

However, news broke later that month that Price needed to have his knee examined in New York. Per Sean Farrell of the NHL's website, Montreal general manager Kent Hughes spoke with reporters Tuesday and explained that he doesn't yet know Price's status for the fall. 

"It's sometimes just a situation of how will his knee respond to additional treatment," Hughes said of Price. "I think the only way we would have complete clarity on it is if somehow we learned that he could not play. Otherwise, we have to go into the season and see how the knee responds once he's back to the rigors of a regular season schedule. 

"But the draft itself, probably not as critical as maybe July 13 (the start of NHL free agency). And knowing his situation from, if he's not playing, then we would have [long term injured reserve] that we could use. Without that information, we don't have the luxury of using it." 

Hughes revealed that Price met with a knee specialist in Pittsburgh at some point after the campaign concluded. 

Price appeared in just five games this past season and went 1-4-0 with a 3.63 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage. According to Sportsnet, he is under contract for four more years on a deal that counts $10.5 million annually on the salary cap.