Disappointing update on the status of Carey Price.

The Montreal Canadiens have been without their star goaltender for the entirety of the 2021 - 2022 National Hockey League regular season thus far, and now it sounds like there's no chance they will see him back in the lineup before the end of the calendar year.

The news broke on Sunday and comes courtesy of Montreal Canadiens insider Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. According to Lavoie, all signs indicate that Price will not be ready to play in the month of December which effectively rules Price out until the next calendar year. Lavoie did not share any specifics regarding when Price might actually return, but he did add that the veteran goaltender is expected to begin training with his goalie equipment over the course of the coming days.

This is a massive disappointment for the Canadiens who have been in desperate need of help after a very poor start to the season, one that has already resulted in a massive shift in the team's front office. What makes this all the more disappointing however was the fact that Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong had given some indication a little over a week ago that Price was nearing a return. In fact Armstrong even strongly hinted at the fact that Price would be given consideration for Team Canada's roster if he were able to comeback and regain his form as a star netminder in the NHL.

"We're hoping all the best for Carey," said Armstrong. "I hear he's getting back on the ice soon and I would say going into it, when everyone watched last year's playoffs, he was pencilled in as the guy. Now there's things that are so much more important than playing hockey and he's going through some of those things right now, and if he gets his game up and he wants to come and he's playing to that level he will be the guy again. obviously."

I would have to believe that this news also takes Price out of the running for that team, given that the final rosters will need to be submitted in January.