Following a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the New York Rangers, the Canadiens' superstar goalie reiterated his desire to remain with the club.
"I want to stay here," Price said Monday, per John Lu of TSN. "I know we'll figure out a way to make all the pieces fit and bring a championship here."
Price can become an unrestricted free agent in 2018, and has the option to sign a contract extension with the Canadiens as soon as July 1. According to Amanda Stein of TSN 690, he's indeed open to begin discussions with general manager Marc Bergevin at that juncture.
Montreal's inability to get out of the first round shouldn't be pinned on Price, who recorded a .933 save percentage in six games against the Rangers.
And despite being bested by Henrik Lundqvist in the series, Price's next contract is expected to come in higher than the $8.5-million cap hit carried by the Rangers goaltender.
If Ilya Kovalchuk is intent on returning to the NHL, New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero appears in line to act as facilitator.
Below are the applicable protocols to be followed if the 34-year-old wants to return to the NHL for the 2017-18 season, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.
Kovalchuk remains property of (the Devils) as he is on the Voluntary Retirement List (VRL) so he is free to sign with them for coming season. If Kovalchuk doesn't want to return to NJ, he could sign with ANY team as long as EVERY other team in NHL signs off on it. Not a chance.
Because Kovalchuk is on VRL, NJ can't trade his rights to any team unless Kovalchuk signs with NJ first. So sign and trade possible.
Note: Only way Kovalchuk can come off VRL is by signing with NJ. Player on VRL can't have rights traded. Thus, sign and trade is required.
Kovalchuk found himself in the headlines after Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada that the Russian forward is interested in returning to North America to ply his trade, now that his KHL contract has expired.
Kovalchuk last played in the NHL back in 2013, choosing to walk away from a massive contract with the Devils in favor of returning home.
After finishing first overall in the NHL standings, it doesn't seem possible that the Washington Capitals could enter the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as underdogs.
Sure, the Capitals finished seven points ahead of the Penguins this season, but Pittsburgh did eliminate Washington from the playoffs last year as well as in 2009, going on to win the Cup on both occasions.
The Capitals were also given all they could handle by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, while the Penguins disposed of the Columbus Blue Jackets rather easily.
Still, Washington will have home-ice advantage in the series and boasts a fairly healthy roster that's about to face one missing star defenseman Kris Letang.
While they may consider themselves to be underdogs, this could and probably should be the year the Capitals advance to the conference finals for the first time in the Alex Ovechkin era.
The opening round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs has come and gone, leaving us with a couple days to rest and reflect on what was a sensational 12 days of hockey.
Here are five things that made the first round one to remember.
Working overtime
Playoff hockey is a sight to behold to begin with, but nothing compares to the drama that comes with teams battling for a single goal to get the win. And hockey fans experienced that back-and-forth more in this round than ever before.
Each series featured at least one overtime result, with Washington and Toronto requiring at least one extra period to decide five of their six games.
Not for the faint of heart, to be sure.
Maple Leafs' budding success
Love them or loathe them, the playoffs are more compelling when the aforementioned Maple Leafs are involved, and they did more than enough to prove they belonged.
After beating out the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders by a single point in the race for the final wild-card spot, Toronto's young guns gave the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals all they could handle in what was without question the most exciting and talked-about series of the first round.
Toronto's trio of super rookies - namely Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner - all excelled on the big stage, giving Leafs fans hope that this is indeed just the beginning.
Few NHL teams garner the passion and ire of both local and outside fan bases, and Toronto once again proved to be the center of the hockey universe for a couple weeks.
A huge reason why the balance of power shifted so dramatically and so quickly was the play of Pekka Rinne and Jake Allen, who were near perfect in backstopping their teams to victory.
Player
Games
Shots Against
Goals Allowed
Save %
Pekka Rinne
4
126
3
.976
Jake Allen
5
182
8
.956
Excellence, defined.
And while this string of red-hot play may not last for one or both, it was certainly enough to disrupt the best-laid plans for a pair of apparent Cup contenders.
MacArthur's storybook comeback
The Ottawa Senators weren't sure whether Clarke MacArthur would ever be able to play for them again, and now they're wondering where they'd be without him.
Sidelined for the better part of two seasons as a result of a series of concussions, the veteran winger made his presence felt with two goals in six games against the Boston Bruins, including a series-clinching overtime strike in Game 6.
Head coach Guy Boucher talked about how inspiring it was when MacArthur scored his first goal in almost two years in Game 2, and expanded on what MacArthur means to the team after the series win.
"There's a lot of great stories in this room, but I don't think there's probably one better than that one," Boucher said, according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. "You saw what he had to go through all year, and I think everybody wrote him off for sure, I think maybe himself at some point. But he fought through.
"He's the one that said, 'I'm coming back, Coach. I'll be available for the playoffs.' I wanted to believe him. I really did. But then you think, he hasn't played for two years? How good is he going to be?"
Good enough to clinch the series for the Senators, at least.
Oil change complete
The Edmonton Oilers are certainly making the most of their first playoff appearance in 11 years.
After a seemingly endless period of rebuilding, Connor McDavid and Co. disposed of the defending Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks in six games, serving notice they've officially arrived.
What's impressive is how they were able to rebound from a 7-0 loss in Game 4 and win the next two games in order to close the series out.
And the thing is, it wasn't all about McDavid - who recorded a team-high four points in the series - driving the bus; it was a full team effort.
Cam Talbot recorded two shutouts, Zack Kassian scored a pair of game-winning goals while hitting everyone in his path, Oscar Klefbom continued to emerge as a force on the blue line, and Leon Draisaitl once again proved to be as key as any young player on the roster.
Fans filled Rogers Place in order to watch the decisive Game 6 from San Jose on the big screen, emphasizing the reality that Edmonton is hungry for a winner, and these Oilers have the look of a team capable of making further noise.
All that, and we didn't even mention the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. That's the kind of opening round it was. Now on to the next.
At least one member of the Boston Bruins believes the interim tag should be removed from head coach Bruce Cassidy.
That would be veteran forward David Backes, who sees no reason why Cassidy should not return as bench boss after guiding the team to a record of 18-8-1 and a playoff appearance after taking over from Claude Julien.
"The results speak for themselves," Backes said after the team was eliminated from the postseason by the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. "We were climbing uphill certainly when he took over and we made our way in. It wasn’t easy.
"I don’t know how you make an argument against (Cassidy returning)," he added. "We had a few less bodies in the playoffs than we’d like and he’s leading the ship and righting it ... I don’t know what a full year with him maybe changes a few things, but he did a heck of a job in my opinion."
Cassidy himself admitted injuries to Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, and Brandon Carlo caught up to Bruins in the end, and certainly Boston's chances against the Senators would have been improved with a healthy blue line, thereby solidifying Cassidy's position.
There's been no indication yet from general manager Don Sweeney in regards to when a decision will be made, or whether newly available candidates like Dan Bylsma of Darryl Sutter will be considered.
For the time being, Cassidy can rest with the knowledge he gained the respect of his players thus far as head coach.
It wasn't the ending Mike Babcock and the Toronto Maple Leafs had in mind, but it's one they shouldn't be disappointed with.
The Maple Leafs fell to the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in Game 6 after their third overtime loss of the series on Sunday night. However, the loss was not in vain.
In their final spat of the season, the Maple Leafs made the Capitals work and, even if for only a brief moment, created doubt in a powerhouse franchise.
They made the series interesting, but above all else, they proved that all the hard work by Brendan Shanahan and Co. was worthwhile and that the perceived bright future of this club is right in front of us.
Pain in the rear-view mirror
It was just a little over two years ago when the Maple Leafs hired Babcock as their head coach, who promised a lot of pain - and that pain came quickly. In his first season behind the bench, the Maple Leafs finished with the worst record in the NHL.
However, it was pain worth enduring, as the Maple Leafs received the best odds at winning the draft lottery, ultimately drafting the highly touted Auston Matthews.
The rebuild appeared to be in fast forward from there, as Matthews, along with fellow rookies Mitch Marner and William Nylander, and the rest of the Maple Leafs cast surprised many by earning their first playoff berth in a full 82-game season since 2004.
We know how that ended.
The Maple Leafs were expected to still sit outside the postseason at season's end, but instead they nearly ousted the league's top team, making it quite clear that just earning a playoff spot will no longer be the team's goal next season.
Capitals were huge measuring stick
While the Maple Leafs did ultimately fall to the best team the NHL had to offer, they got a strong taste of what it takes to win.
The Maple Leafs held their own against the team that paced the league in points, ranked third in goals scored, while allowing the fewest against.
The Maple Leafs pushed the Capitals to overtime in five games, coming up on the wrong side of things in three of those contests. They went up against the best in the league and were separated in most cases by just a single shot.
Morgan Rielly said postgame that the Maple Leafs proved they could play with anyone, and that is most certainly the case.
Andersen has ended goaltending controversy
It's unfortunate that arguably Frederik Andersen's strongest game of the year was a losing effort.
Andersen turned away 34 of the 36 shots thrown his way with Marcus Johansson's two tallies being the only pucks to get by him.
However, throughout the regular season, and more notably in the playoffs, Andersen proved the Maple Leafs no longer need to try to poach an up-and-coming backup goalie from a Western Conference club.
It had really become a recurring pipe dream for the franchise.
When the games really mattered, Andersen stood to the task and played as well as any goalie in the league. He was arguably the team's most valuable player during the season and was vital to the team in making it as far as it did in the playoffs.
His contract might have been a risk by management, but for once in a very long time, the Maple Leafs look to have nabbed the right guy.
The 2016-17 NHL season will go down as one to remember for Maple Leafs fans. It will be remembered as being the first sign of hope and promise in a franchise that for so long lacked both.
The Maple Leafs have recaptured the love from a city whose passion for hockey had wilted and it's only up from here.
Barry Trotz opened his postgame press conference Sunday by paying respect to his opponent, congratulating the Toronto Maple Leafs and their management staff on the season that was.
"You've got a hell of a team," Trotz told Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
Barry Trotz says he felt like he saw the #leafs growing before his eyes in this series.
The Maple Leafs were a surprise playoff entry this season after finishing in last place a year ago. That earned the Maple Leafs the top pick in the 2016 draft and the right to select Auston Matthews, who led the club with 40 goals this season.
One year later and the Maple Leafs took the Presidents' Trophy winners to six games in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with five of the six games decided in overtime.
Matthews led a crop of rookies in Toronto this season, flanked by fellow freshmen Mitch Marner and William Nylander.
