Carey Price's return doesn't guarantee success for Montreal Canadiens
Price returns to game action tonight for the 1st time since last November
Carey Price is 100 per cent. Carey Price is coming back healthy this season. Carey Price is the best player in the game.
Those three phrases – or some variation on them – have become a kind of mantra for Habs management this summer.
And for fans, after the disaster that was the 2015-16 season, why not buy into it? It's comforting to think that with Price back between the pipes, the on-ice problems that sunk the season following his injury on Nov. 25 will fade away.
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But while it is true that a healthy Price will help fix all that ails the Habs, it won't be as simple as just writing his name into the starting line up every night, sitting back and watching the wins roll in.
No guarantees
With Price back to his old self, the sky is the limit for the Montreal Canadiens. But as great as Price is, the persistent glow of his "season for the ages" in 2014-15 season is problematic.
Think twice before banking on Price repeating his exploits of that extraordinary season and once again walking out of the NHL awards gala with an armful of hardware.
The reality is that a "season for the ages" usually doesn't happen every year, otherwise it would be "just another season."
Even if Price had not gone nearly 10 months without playing a meaningful game, it wouldn't be fair to expect him to replicate the numbers he posted in 2014-15.
When all is said and done, 2014-15 might prove to be the best year Price has in his career.
This is not to say that he won't regain the same form that won him the Hart Trophy, but rather that fans shouldn't expect it.
And if he doesn't ever have another year like he did before he was injured, that's not the end for Price. He will still be a great player for years to come.
Habs fans can get excited
It would be wrong to read Price's return as an occasion that only conjures doom and gloom about the future and nostalgia for years gone by because fans should get pumped up about this comeback.
Price told reporters this week that he's excited about getting back into game action and that he feels 100 per cent health-wise.
"I don't have any question marks about my health or my body or anything," Price said "I've tested absolutely everything to the limit and I did everything correctly so I have absolutely no worries about anything."
Another thing that should put the nervous Habs fan's mind at ease is the team that Price is playing with at the moment.
Unlike the Habs, Team Canada is loaded with the best of the best so Price won't be asked to carry his team to victory – at least not as often as he will be in Montreal.
The World Cup of Hockey is a great stage for Price to make his return and Habs fans should be optimistic about what is to come with him in the lineup this NHL season.
After all, Carey Price is 100 per cent. Carey Price is coming back healthy this season. Carey Price is the best player in the game.