Canadiens goalie Price is Hart Trophy favorite: analyst

NEW YORK -- Comcast SportsNet NHL analyst Brian Boucher believes Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price should win the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player.

Boucher, a 13-year NHL veteran who began his career with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1999-2000, was in Manhattan for an appearance on NHL Live on Tuesday. He sat down with NHL.com to discuss Price, the Flyers and other hot topics around the League.

"Any time you have a goals against under two you know the team is doing their job and, second, the goaltender is doing his part," Boucher said. "It's not an easy thing to keep your goals against under two and his save percentage is through the roof. He's really matured into a top-notch goaltender and certainly has been a key for that Canadiens team. They're a serious contender because a lot of that has to do with Carey Price.

"If he's not in there, you got to ask yourself, 'Would that team still be where they are at?' I don't think so."

Price leads the NHL in wins (37), save percentage (.936) and goals-against average (1.89). He is also tied for second in shutouts (7). A goalie has won the Hart Trophy seven times in the 90-year history of the award. It last happened in 2001-02 when Jose Theodore won it with the Canadiens.

"Carey Price is the man," Boucher said. "If I'm a goalie teacher, he's a guy I would want to use as an example to show kids how to play the position because of his poise, athleticism and puck handling."

Boucher also discussed the recent play of backups Cam Talbot of the New York Rangers and Andrew Hammond of the Ottawa Senators.

Talbot, who has allowed three goals on 86 shots in his past three games (2-0-1), has gone 10-2-3 with two shutouts in 15 games since Henrik Lundqvist sustained his neck injury.

"I'm a little surprised by Cam but I think most thought that when Lundqvist went down that the Rangers would be in trouble but if you look at Cam's numbers, he's right around where Lundqvist was," Boucher said. "You not only have to give credit to Cam but I'm sure he's going to give a lot of praise to his goaltending coach Benoit Allaire. Benoit is well prepared and always gets his goaltenders in a place where they feel very comfortable.

"Cam is solid, rarely out of position and I think that's also a credit to Benoit."

Hammond, a.k.a. 'The Hamburgler,' has allowed two or fewer goals in eight career starts. He made his NHL debut against the Canadiens on Feb. 18 and made 42 saves in a 4-2 victory at Canadian Tire Centre. Hammond is 7-0-1 in eight starts with a 1.43 GAA, three shutouts and .954 save percentage.

"How can you not be impressed?" Boucher said. "Timing is everything in life and Andrew seized the moment and that's a credit to him. It's hard to get to the NHL and you need a break and for a guy like him, the door was open a crack and he busted it open and has kind of made a name for himself."

Despite Hammond's success, Senators coach Dave Cameron will turn to veteran Craig Anderson against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Boucher feels giving the reigns to Anderson, who will make his second start since returning from a hand injury on Jan. 21, is the right call.

"Your No. 1 guy is Craig Anderson," Boucher said. "What Andrew Hammond did was great and certainly you're happy about that but you want to get your No. 1 goalie back in the mix. If Craig Anderson falters you know you have a guy in Hammond that's feeling good about his game and can step in and play but I wouldn't mess around with guessing who my No. 1 is."

Boucher also discussed the current state of the Flyers, the team for which he spent six seasons of his career that includes time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes.

"Flyers fans are certainly not a fan base that is used to having an organization talking about a rebuild and they've certainly tried to rebuild on the fly over the last decade or two," Boucher said. "I think as long as the fans in Philadelphia know that there is a plan in place, I think they're OK with it. They understand that sometimes this is what's needed. I think if they felt like there wasn't a plan in place then they would be a little bit more nervous."

Boucher felt Flyers general manager Ron Hextall received good compensation in separate trades of defensemen Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen at the NHL Trade Deadline on March 2. Coburn was traded to Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Radko Gudas, a 2015 first-round pick and 2015 third-round pick. Timonen was traded to the Blackhawks for a 2015 second-round pick and 2016 conditional fourth-round pick.

"Hextall has made it very clear from day one he wanted to start by building from the ground up and that starts with the draft and certainly the first line business was to get draft picks and he did that going from seven to 11 picks this year," Boucher said. "They have some good young prospects on defense that are coming up through juniors and the minors so the future is bright. I think if they draft well this year it could be a good thing in a couple of years; it could be a team that's contending again."

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