Report: Carey Price has waived his no-movement clause ahead of expansion draft

There was some speculation this season leading up to the Seattle Kraken expansion draft that Carey Price may waive his no-movement clause, either to be an option for the newest NHL franchise, or to use his massive $10.5-million cap hit to shield Jake Allen from eligibility. It seems the latter has happened, and the Kraken will be free to select Price if they want him and his contract.

There is no word on #Habs’ final protection list, but multiple sources say Canadiens at least discussed the idea of Carey Price waiving his no-move clause for exposure in #SeaKraken Expansion Draft over the last 24 hours.

We’ll see when the lists are revealed on Sunday.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 17, 2021

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

It’s definitely a gamble for Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, leaving his franchise cornerstone dangling in front of a team looking to get a jumpstart on their competitive window. There will be other goaltenders available, but a Hart Trophy-winner and one of this year’s Stanley Cup finalists is sure to at least lead to a serious discussion in the Kraken front office.

We saw this season how difficult it is to navigate a flat-cap world, and Seattle has a chance to build from scratch with a reduced cap in mind. Their general manager, Ron Francis, said as much today:

#SeaKraken GM Ron Francis: "The one thing we think is extremely, extremely valuable in this environment is cap space."

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 17, 2021

Perhaps that mindset will keep them from selecting Price. We won’t know until their 30-player selection list is revealed on July 21.