Canadiens' Carey Price Reportedly Waives No-Move Clause Ahead of NHL Expansion Draft
July 18, 2021
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has reportedly waived his no-move clause in advance of the NHL expansion draft, which will be held Wednesday to fill the Seattle Kraken roster.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN, who broke the news, explained why Price did so.
"Hearing that Carey Price has waived his no-move for purpose of exposure in the expansion draft so that the Habs could protect Jake Allen in the expansion draft," LeBrun wrote.
"The thought is that Seattle wouldn't want to pick up the rest of Price's hefty contract. But I guess we will see."
Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada also provided some thoughts:
Chris Johnston @reporterchrisOf note on the Carey Price situation: He's owed an $11M signing bonus in September -- a big upfront payout if <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/seakraken?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#seakraken</a> claim him.<br><br>Price also only waived his NMC for expansion purposes. So he can't be claimed and flipped in a subsequent trade without his consent.
NHL teams are allowed to protect either seven forwards, three defenseman and one goalie or eight skaters (forwards or defensemen) and one goalie, per NHL.com. In turn, Seattle must pick at least 20 players from the unprotected player pool.
With teams only allowed to protect one goaltender, it appears that Montreal will protect 30-year-old backup goalie Jake Allen in an attempt to keep both of its netminders.
Price's contract could certainly be a deterrent for Seattle. In addition to the aforementioned $11 million signing bonus, Price has five seasons left on an eight-year, $84 million contract.
Price, who turns 34 years old in August, just helped the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. He starred in the playoffs with a 2.28 GAA and .924 save percentage.