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Was Canada right to put Carey Price on its World Cup roster?
Despite recovery from injury, Team Canada named Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price to its World Cup roster. Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

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.

Can you name every NHL player to win the Vezina Trophy?

The Vezina Trophy honors the top goaltender in the NHL. From 1965-1981, awards were often given to multiple goaltenders of one team. The award was not given in 2005 due to a strike. 

SCORE:
0/106
TIME:
15:00
1927-MTL
George Hainsworth
1928-MTL
George Hainsworth
1929-MTL
George Hainsworth
1930-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1931-NYA
Roy Worters
1932-CHI
Charlie Gardiner
1933-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1934-CHI
Charlie Gardiner
1935-CHI
Lorne Chabot
1936-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1937-DET
Normie Smith
1938-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1939-BOS
Frank Brimsek
1940-NYR
Dave Kerr
1941-TOR
Turk Broda
1942-BOS
Frank Brimsek
1943-DET
Johnny Mowers
1944-MTL
Bill Durnan
1945-MTL
Bill Durnan
1946-MTL
Bill Durnan
1947-MTL
Bill Durnan
1948-TOR
Turk Broda
1949-MTL
Bill Durnan
1950-MTL
Bill Durnan
1951-TOR
Al Rollins
1952-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1953-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1954-TOR
Harry Lumley
1955-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1956-MTL
Jacques Plante
1957-MTL
Jacques Plante
1958-MTL
Jacques Plante
1959-MTL
Jacques Plante
1960-MTL
Jacques Plante
1961-TOR
Johnny Bower
1962-MTL
Jacques Plante
1963-CHI
Glenn Hall
1964-MTL
Charlie Hodge
1965-TOR
Terry Sawchuk
1965-TOR
Johnny Bower
1966-MTL
Gump Worsley
1966-MTL
Charlie Hodge
1967-CHI
Glenn Hall
1967-CHI
Denis DeJordy
1968-MTL
Rogie Vachon
1968-MTL
Gump Worsley
1969-STL
Jacques Plante
1969-STL
Glenn Hall
1970-CHI
Tony Esposito
1971-NYR
Gilles Villemure
1971-NYR
Ed Giacomin
1972-CHI
Gary Smith
1972-CHI
Tony Esposito
1973-MTL
Ken Dryden
1974-CHI
Tony Esposito
1974-PHI
Bernie Parent
1975-PHI
Bernie Parent
1976-MTL
Ken Dryden
1977-MTL
Michel Larocque
1977-MTL
Ken Dryden
1978-MTL
Michel Larocque
1978-MTL
Ken Dryden
1979-MTL
Michel Larocque
1979-MTL
Ken Dryden
1980-BUF
Bob Sauve
1980-BUF
Don Edwards
1981-MTL
Richard Sevigny
1981-MTL
Michel Larocque
1981-MTL
Denis Herron
1982-NYI
Billy Smith
1983-BOS
Pete Peeters
1984-BUF
Tom Barrasso
1985-PHI
Pelle Lindbergh
1986-NYR
John Vanbiesbrouck
1987-PHI
Ron Hextall
1988-EDM
Grant Fuhr
1989-MTL
Patrick Roy
1990-MTL
Patrick Roy
1991-CHI
Ed Belfour
1992-MTL
Patrick Roy
1993-CHI
Ed Belfour
1994-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1995-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1996-WAS
Jim Carey
1997-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1998-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1999-BUF
Dominik Hasek
2000-WAS
Olaf Kolzig
2001-BUF
Dominik Hasek
2002-MTL
Jose Theodore
2003-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2004-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2006-CAL
Miikka Kiprusoff
2007-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2008-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2009-BOS
Tim Thomas
2010-BUF
Ryan Miller
2011-BOS
Tim Thomas
2012-NYR
Henrik Lundqvist
2013-CBJ
Sergei Bobrovsky
2014-BOS
Tuukka Rask
2015-MTL
Carey Price
2016-WAS
Braden Holtby
2017-CBJ
Sergei Bobrovsky
2018-NSH
Pekka Rinne
2019-TBL
Andrei Vasilevskiy

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