Carey Price's contract traded from the Canadiens to the Sharks in a salary cap move

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Carey Price’s contract was traded Friday from the Montreal Canadiens to the San Jose Sharks, a move made for salary cap reasons with the goaltender's stellar playing career long over because of a chronic knee injury.

Price, now 38, has not played since 2022, when he got into five games at the end of the season. He still had one year left on his contract at a cap hit of $10.5 million, though the actual money owed is significantly less.

The trade allows the Sharks to be over the cap floor of $70.6 million for the upcoming NHL season and gives Montreal some more flexibility with the upper limit increasing to $95.5 million. They got a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Canadiens and sent them minor-league defenseman Gannon Laroque.

Price backstopped the Habs to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final in the last full action of his 15-year professional career with them. In 2015, he won the Hart Trophy as MVP, the Vezina as top goaltender and Ted Lindsay as most outstanding player as voted by his peers, and was a key part of Canada winning Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games.

The rebuilding Sharks now have multiple players under contract who are not expected to dress this season. Captain Logan Couture announced in April he was hanging up his skates because of a debilitating injury.

Price joins the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Chris Pronger, Brent Seabrook and former teammate Shea Weber as players with career-ending injuries whose deals were traded before they expired.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl