MONTREAL

Habs could leave Carey Price unprotected in expansion draft: report

Adam Kovac CTVNewsMontreal.ca Digital Reporter

Published Saturday, July 17, 2021 9:50PM EDT Last Updated Saturday, July 17, 2021 9:50PM EDT

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price deflects a shot on goal during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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MONTREAL -- Could Carey Price be the first ever starting goalie for the Seattle Kraken?

According to one report the answer is... maybe.

On Saturday, NHL team's handed in their protected player lists for the July 21 expansion draft, in which the league's 32nd team will be able to pick a player from every other team (with the exception of the Las Vegas Golden Knights).

While the lists won't be made public until Sunday, TSN and RSS Hockey Insider Pierre Lebrun said the Habs have made a surprise move in not protecting their star goalie.

According to expansion draft rules, each team can protect either one goalie, seven forwards and three defencemen or one goalie and eight skaters of any position.

Lebrun reported via Twitter that the Canadiens will leave Price unprotected and will instead keep his backup, Jake Allen, safe.

“The thought is that Seattle wouldn't want to pick up the rest of Price's hefty contract,” Lebrun wrote.

Hearing that Carey Price has waived his no-move for purpose of exposure in the expansion draft so that the Habs could protect Jake Allen in the expansion draft. The thought is that Seattle wouldn’t want to pick up the rest of Price’s hefty contract. But I guess we will see.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 18, 2021

According to CapFriendly.com, Price will be owed a total salary of $13 million for the 2021-2022 season, with $11 million of that coming as a signing bonus. Price also carries the highest hit against the NHL's salary cap of any goalie, at $10.5 million.

Because Price's contract includes a no-movement clause, the team would have to ask him to waive it in order to leave him unprotected.

The 33-year-old Price has five years left on his contract. During the pandemic-shortened regular season, he was merely ordinary, posting a 12-7-5 record with a 2.64 GAA and .901 save percentage. However, his playoffs verged on the superhuman, as he carried the team on his back to the Stanley Cup Finals, with a 2.28 GAA and .924 save percentage.

Price's fate isn't the only question facing the Habs as they head into the expansion draft. Defenceman and captain Shea Weber is reportedly suffering from an injury that could keep him out for the entire coming season, if not longer. There's also the issue of forward Jonathan Drouin, who left the team in April for personal reasons.