Kent Hughes would have given Carey Price an ultimatum of sorts

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Jeff Drouin
May 30, 2022 (2:59 PM)

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Even though he made a return to the game at the end of the season, Carey Price did not really reassure anyone during his five starts with the Habs. Both the management and the fans were concerned about the fact that he had to skip a few starts at the end of the season and that he would not be back in top form next season.

My colleague Alex Déry of Fanadiens.com recently reported that Kent Hughes was asked on The Cam and Strick Podcast about his No. 1 goaltender at the World Hockey Championships and gave him something of an ultimatum.

"Ultimately, in Carey's situation, he has to make the right decision for him. Obviously, that decision will have a big impact on us in some way. We're able to empathize with him and obviously there's a timeline in place for him to get better and get back to being a full-time goalie. But there is a timeline for us as well. We hope they align, but at the end of the day, we have to respect the fact that he has to do things the way he has to do them to get back to full-time."

It's clear that Price's situation is starting to worry Habs management more and more, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Kent Hughes try to acquire a top-notch goaltender should No. 31 not be able to start next season.

It's a tricky one and Hughes is handling it well. His message is clear and it's perfect: he's going to respect Carey's choice and he doesn't want to influence him too much, he really wants to respect his star goalie 100% in this big decision, but at the same time, time is running out and the organization has a deadline.

So it's kind of an ultimatum, like:

"Carey, make the best decision for you and your family, take your time and we're going to respect your choice, but time is running out so we'd need a quick answer please."

A very complex file and Hughes is right, the CH must have an answer soon.

You can hear the words of Kent Hughes by clicking below.