With just three games left on the Montreal Canadiens’ schedule, the club announced this morning that injured goalie Carey Price would not play again this season.
Price hasn’t played since Nov. 25. He’d been holding out hope for a return, even after the Canadiens had been eliminated from playoff contention.
Throughout it all, the team remained tight-lipped about the specifics of his injury, but that silence ended today with a statement from the Canadiens’ head physician, Dr. Vincent Lacroix.
“Now that Carey Price’s season has officially ended, here is a detailed description of his injury: Carey sustained a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL sprain) to his right knee on November 25th, 2015 in a game against the NY Rangers. The MCL provides support to the inside of the knee and is essential for stability and knee function. Acute, isolated MCL injuries are managed without surgery. Rehabilitation treatments lead to full functional recovery. The recovery process can be long in the case of an elite netminder such as Carey, due to the high demand placed on this anatomical structure by modern goaltending techniques. Although Carey has made excellent progress and is very close to being able to return to competition, he has not presently been cleared to do so. He is expected to make a full recovery over the off-season. This injury was not the same as the one he suffered earlier this season (October 29th at Edmonton), nor in previous years,” said Dr. Lacroix.
Team Canada still expects Price to participate in the World Cup in September.
"He's really close, so that's why there's no doubt in our minds he will be ready for training camp and the World Cup" - Therrien on Price
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) April 6, 2016
The Canadiens also announced that P.K. Subban (neck), Mark Barberio (concussion), Victor Bartley (groin/broken foot) and Lucas Lessio (right knee) would miss the remainder of the season.
Subban has not played since March 10, when he was stretchered off the ice after suffering what the club called a “non-serious neck injury.” He’s since returned to practice.