Price traded to Sharks by Canadiens for prospect

Carey Price was traded to the San Jose Sharks by the Montreal Canadiens on Friday with a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for defenseman prospect Gannon Laroque.

The 38-year-old goalie has not played an NHL game since April 29, 2022, because of numerous injuries and his reluctance to have a more invasive surgery on his right knee. He is the winningest goalie in Canadiens history with 361, and is Montreal's all-time leader at the position in games played (712), starts (700), shots against (21,059) and saves (19,304). His 49 NHL shutouts ranks third in Montreal annals behind Hockey Hall of Famers George Hainsworth (75) and Jacques Plante (58).

He is in the final season of an eight-year contract he signed with the Canadiens on July 2, 2017.

Price told LNH.com in March that he would have enjoyed the opportunity to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February had he been healthy.

"I would have loved to have played a game on the international stage in Montreal," Price said then. "I always wore the Canadian colors with great pride. A game at Bell Centre with my Canadian teammates would have been the memory of a lifetime. The stage for that game was huge. When you're no longer playing, you miss the energy and the nerves before a big game. It's an adrenaline rush.

"The combination of a game in Montreal with a Team Canada game, it made me feel a lot of emotions. But I was happy to participate as a fan. For my part, I always knew that my career would come to an end because of health reasons or because I was told I wasn't good enough anymore. I'd like to think that I finally stopped because my body just couldn't keep up anymore. I like that better. I'm still a proud athlete. I would've found it tough to find myself out of the NHL because I no longer had the talent to keep up."

Price said in March that the rigors of playing in the NHL and being away from his family for extended periods led to him stepping away from the game, though he never officially announced his retirement as a player.

"Yeah, I miss hockey," he said. "I miss the games. I have such a competitive spirit. I liked the energy, the preparation and the routine of game day. But I don't really miss being on my knees 200 times during a single practice.

"I liked being on the road with my teammates, but when you've got a family, that becomes more important. You miss out on precious moments. Time goes by quickly. In the blink of an eye, my three kids will become teenagers and they won't want to spend time with their father anymore."

Selected by Montreal with the No. 5 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Price won the Vezina Trophy, voted as the best goalie in the NHL, and the Hart Trophy, voted as NHL MVP in 2014-15, when he led the League with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

He also won the Masterton Trophy, voted for perseverance, sportmanship and dedication to hockey, in 2021-22.

Price played 15 seasons, all with the Canadiens, and was 43-45 with a 2.39 GAA, .919 save percentage and eight shutouts in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games (89 starts).

Laroque, selected by the Sharks in the fourth round (No. 103) of the 2021 NHL Draft, had 64 points (13 goals, 51 assists) in 91 games through four seasons with Victoria of the Western Hockey League from 2019-23. He had three points (one goal, two assists) in 12 games with San Jose of the American Hockey League over the past two seasons, and also had two assists in nine games with Wichita of the ECHL last season.

LNH.com senior writer Jean-Francois Chaumont contributed to this report