The Montreal Canadiens have made the decision to expose their franchise goaltender in Carey Price for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, in which the Seattle Kraken will be taking 30 players from other squads.
And there has been rampant speculation as to the potential of Price being claimed by the Kraken, instantly turning him into the face of the young franchise, much in the fashion that Marc-Andre Fleury became the face of the Vegas Golden Knights after he was selected in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
And for Habs fans who are still clinging to the possibility that Price won't be leaving Montreal any time soon, you may want to cover your eyes. According to ESPN reporter Greg Wyshynski, he knows "for a fact" that the ownership of the Kraken are all in on acquiring Price.
"I know for a fact that the owners want him," he writes. "They are infatuated with the idea of seeing Price's name behind the Kraken jerseys they will start selling tomorrow night. The people I've talked to say that there is some sort of church and state separation between the owners and the field hockey department. I think they [the Kraken] are going to select Price. Don't forget how attached Ron Francis was to having a veteran behind the net like Cam Ward in Carolina!"
Of course, this comes on the heels of Frank Seravalli reporting that Kraken ownership has given GM Ron Francis the “full green light” to select Price in the Expansion Draft:
Price has five seasons left on an eight-year, $84 million deal, carries an annual cap hit of $10.5 million, and is owed an $11 million signing bonus later this year. And right now, it looks like the Kraken would have no qualms about taking on that hefty deal if it means they can get an all-world former Hart Trophy winning goaltender who would help sell tickets, draw in viewers, fans and merchandise, as well as instantly becoming the face of the team.
Should the Habs ultimately lose Price, they'd be rolling with veteran Jake Allen in goal and would have several options on the free-agent market to pair him with, including the likes of Devan Dubnyk, an old friend in Jaroslav Halak, as well as several others.
