Montreal Canadiens G Carey Price will play Friday against the New York Islanders after an extended personal vacation

Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Carry price He will start the game against the New York Islanders at the Bell Center on Friday night, in his first appearance for the team since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

Canadians temporary coach Martin St. Louis He announced this after training with Price as if he was the initiator.

Price, 34, has not appeared in an NHL game since July 7, when the Canadians were eliminated in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final to Tampa Bay Lightning.

The next several months were tumultuous for Price. He had off-season knee surgery. He waived his no-motion clause to be left unprotected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft — the idea being that his massive contract would deter Seattle from being picked, and he wasn’t taken.

On October 7, Price voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program.

“For the past few years, I’ve allowed myself to get into a very dark place and didn’t have the tools to deal with this struggle,” Price wrote on Instagram last November. “I made the decision to come into a residential treatment facility for substance abuse. Things got to a point where I realized I needed to prioritize my health for myself and my family. Asking for help when you need it is what we encourage our kids to do, and that was what I needed.”

Price brought the Canadians back in late 2021, but his way back from surgery beset by setbacks, including a non-COVID illness that knocked him out of play. Earlier this month, Price began participating in full team training with Montreal, fueling speculation that he might return before the end of the regular season.

“It has been a very long way for him,” friend and colleague Brendan Gallagher She said. “He’s excited to get in there. It’s good to see him on match day. It’s something he’s working incredibly hard for. So in front of him we have to do well and hopefully win a hockey game.”

This is Price’s 15th season of the National Hockey League. He has a career record of 360-257-79 in 707 games, all with the Canadians. Price won the Hart Cup as NHL MVP and Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalkeeper in 2014-15. The price was signed during the 2025-26 season with an average annual contract value of $10.5 million.