Carey Price has no plans to retire, taking recovery ‘day by day’

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price said he has no intention of retiring from the NHL and is taking his future “step-by-step.”

“I don’t have a plan to retire right at this moment,” Price told reporters Monday afternoon. “It’s frustrating, no question. You go from the Stanley Cup final to sitting here today. It’s not a position I envisioned myself being in not too long ago. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for myself.”

Price was placed on long-term injured reserve before the season, with no timeline of a potential return.

Price was pivotal in helping the Canadiens make the Stanley Cup final in 2021, upsetting Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas en route to a meeting with the eventual champions, Tampa Bay.

“It was mentally challenging,” Price said. “Playoffs are a grind for anybody and playing hurt is even more so. Once you kinda get into the game, everybody is playing hurt in some way or another. Morning skates were tough. But it was definitely trying. Everybody, by the time you make it to the final, is playing with something. I was just trying to stay focused on the goal.”

Price played in just five games last year after recovering from a knee injury, which he has yet to fully recover from. Price, 35, posted a 1-4-0 record, with his lone win coming in an emotional season finale 10-2 victory over Florida.

In an interview with The Athletic earlier this month, Price said he still he is still getting swelling in his knee on a daily basis. Right now, Price said his goal is to “be pain-free day to day.”

Price said one of the options moving forward is OAT surgery, which would take a piece of his bone and cartilage and put it into the damaged area of his knee. It’s an intrusive surgery, and Price said the idea worries him about his future quality of life.

Price said his rehab hasn’t been successful so far, calling it frustrating. “I’ve had several people talk to me who’ve had this type of injury and it has taken over a year for them to feel normal. So I’m still holding out hope.”