The Canadiens are gambling that Seattle will not want to pay the $11 million signing bonus Carey Price is owed in September. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Canadiens take big gamble by putting Carey Price in expansion draft

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 7/17/21

Carey Price was the hero for the Montreal Canadiens during their Stanley Cup Final run this season. And yet the Canadiens have risked losing him in the expansion draft.

Price waived his no-move clause for the expansion draft, which will take place on Sunday. He did that so Montreal could protect Jake Allen from selection by the Seattle Kraken.

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

The Canadiens are gambling that Seattle will not want to pay the $11 million signing bonus Price is owed in September. Also of note is that Price waived his no-move clause on a conditional basis, strictly for the draft.

Of note on the Carey Price situation: He's owed an $11M signing bonus in September — a big upfront payout if #seakraken claim him.

Price also only waived his NMC for expansion purposes. So he can't be claimed and flipped in a subsequent trade without his consent.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 18, 2021

Price, 33, has played his entire career for the Canadiens. He posted a .901 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average during the regular season. He was even better in the postseason, with marks of .924 and 2.28.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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