For someone who is relatively reserved, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price has been refreshingly open about his mental health and substance abuse issues over the past few years.
First entering the NHLPA’s player assistance program in the fall of 2021, the Habs icon, who now resides in Kelowna, BC, recently celebrated two years of sobriety.
Appearing as a guest on the UnHammered podcast with former NHLer Brantt Myhres over the weekend, the 36-year-old opened up about his battle with alcohol, explaining that the problem started when he got to hockey’s highest level.
“It starts out like fun. You’re just hanging out with everybody. And then, eventually, you get to a point where you’re like ‘Am I actually having fun?’” Price explained, “At a certain point I was like, I need to make my family and my own health a priority.”
Revealing that he spent 30 days in a BC rehab centre, Price is the first to admit that getting sober has been an evolutionary journey.
“You go through your stages,” he said “The first part… it’s exciting. Then after a little while, you’re like ‘Oh man, everyone around me is drinking. They’re drinking, they’re having a good time.’”
Ultimately, for him, though, it came down to “forming new habits.”
Carey Price talks Sobriety pic.twitter.com/nCDHHxiHoX
— Brantt Myhres (@bmyhres) June 23, 2024
Last suiting up for a game with the Canadiens in the spring of 2022, Price has spent the bulk of the past few seasons on Montreal’s’ injured reserve list as a result of a knee injury.
The winningest netminder in franchise history said he hit a breaking point after Montreal lost in the Stanley Cup Final.
Along with his wife Angela, and longtime agent Gerry Johannson, Price credited former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin with encouraging him to seek the help he needed — explaining that the two had had a “long” and “emotional” conversation.
Aside from leading the team to multiple playoff runs and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2021, Price has won the Vezina Trophy, Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, a Calder Cup, and an Olympic gold medal over his 15-season tenure in Montreal.
Missing out on the NHL’s most prestigious trophy, though, has left a large void in his trophy case.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking… You look up there and you’re like I’ve got all those shiny things but there’s the one that’s missing up there,’” he said. “Part of that pushed me over the edge.”
As for how he’s doing these days, Price said he’s perfectly comfortable in his sobriety, even if he finds himself in an alcohol-heavy setting.
“I’m at the point now where I’m like, ‘You be you. Don’t worry about me.’”
Click here to watch Myhres’ entire interview with Price.