The Price is Right...Now

In 1971, a tall lanky kid from Hamilton called Ken Dryden led the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup, en route to a career that saw him win six championships in nine years.

Fifteen years later, a young brat from Quebec City named Patric Roy stole the starters job from Steve Penney and helped the Habs win an unlikely title. He went on to enjoy what many say was the greatest career ever by a goalie, highlighted by his 11 overtime wins in 1993.

Here we are today, the trade deadline on Feb. 26, and Bob Gainey just shocked the hockey world by unloading his disputed number one, Cristobal Huet, to the Capitals for a second round pick in 2009. In doing so, he leaves the door open for his first choice in the draft in 2005: Carey Price.

Will we see another great run by the Canadiens in the playoffs, or will we see a young man thrown to the fire and blowup for lack of experience?

Price's pedigree is clearly unquestioned. While many where baffled by Gainey selecting him before studs like Kopitar in that heralded class, he has gone on to show the hockey world that he is a star in the making.

From his unbelievable performance in the WHJC finals shootout against the Americans to his Roy-esque carrying of a plucky Hamilton Bulldogs team to the Calder Cup in the AHL up until his win of the Molson Cup (the Habs monthly MVP award) in October, he has shown flashes of what may await the fans in hockey-mad Montreal.

However, with the trade of his de-facto mentor in Huet, Price is now alone to face the wolves in the NHL and the unmerciful voraciousness of the local media. After his stellar start, Price struggled through November and was sent down to Hamilton where he continued to under-perform. With management's loss in confidence in Huet, the team felt it had no choice but to call Price back up. Since his return he has played reasonably well.

Jim Carrey, Blaine Lacher, and Martin Gerber are all goalies who showed flashes of greatness in their early careers before flaming out and, with the exception of Gerber, disappearing altogether from the NHL. The goalie position is arguably the toughest in all of professional sports. If your team wins you rarely get the credit, but when you lose you get most of the blame.

Many goalies have not been able to answer the call and rise their game to a higher level. Will a 20-year-old kid from BC become the next Patrick Roy, or will he just be another trivia answer 10 years from now?

Only time will tell. In this era of please me now, let's just hope that the Price is right now.