Some people will tell you that Carey Price is having a fine season, yes sir. Some people will note that he is leading the National Hockey League in save percentage, in goals-against, in wins, all for the East’s first-place team. People point out that the Montreal Canadiens could have reached the Stanley Cup final last season, except Price got hurt, and that without him, the Habs would likely be a mess. It’s one of those Dominik Hasek seasons, they say, those exceptional years. All of these things are true.

Which is why today, we are unveiling the campaign to name Carey Price the least most valuable player in the NHL. He has had a terribly great season, and it could cost the Habs dearly.

First, remember that goalies are voodoo and witchcraft. Andrew Hammond was 46th in save percentage in the 30-team AHL this season, and then he got called to Ottawa and dragged the Senators back into the playoff chase and people started using his nickname. Devan Dubnyk broke in Edmonton one year — Edmonton can break you, hockey-wise, whatever your involvement — and is saving Minnesota the next.

This week, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Roberto Luongo stopped all three shots he faced after coming back from the hospital with a shoulder injury. The Panthers, who saw both goalies get hurt in the same game, were talking about using centre Derek MacKenzie in net. Given how goaltending works, there was at least a chance he could have been amazing.

But the 27-year-old Price is the best goaltender in hockey this year, no question. He is the last great Canadian goalie until the next one — Washington’s Braden Holtby might have the best shot, at the moment — and he has ascended to his prime. The Hart Trophy race will include Alexander Ovechkin and John Tavares. But it should start with Price.

In the age of analytics, look at this way: Montreal is not a great puck-possession team, in the same way that Montreal is not a great sobriety town. The Canadiens rank 23rd in shots attempted versus shot attempts allowed, or Corsi, at even strength. Adjusted for score, it rockets all the way up to 21st. Corsi isn’t everything, but it’s something.

(The NHL has recently tried to annex Corsi by calling it Shot Attempts percentage, or SAT, as part of their new fancy stats initiative. But it’ll always be Corsi to me. It’s how I was raised.)

You know who’s 24th in even-strength Corsi? Edmonton. 22nd? Arizona. Buffalo’s last, because the Sabres are the Pluto of NHL teams — they’re so distant and barren and tiny that they’re in danger of having their classification changed. But the two teams bracketing Montreal in a basic puck-possession metric are the next two teams in terms of the glorious Connor McDavid spectacular, featuring special guest star Jack Eichel.

The other teams that are worse than Montreal in this basic but useful measurement are Calgary (this year’s Colorado Avalanche, though in a much more precarious position), Columbus (destroyed by injuries, briefly touched by the presence of David Clarkson), Toronto (which can be located by that pillar of smoke over there), New Jersey (who have the second-best significant goaltender by even-strength save percentage, Cory Schneider, and are still 24th in the league), Colorado (this year’s Colorado Avalanche), and Buffalo (orbiting the NHL in some cold, distant place.)

Only Calgary is anywhere near a playoff spot, riding the league’s second-best shooting percentage and piles of grit or something, for as long as it lasts. The rest make up seven of the eight teams with the best shot at the McEichel derby, at the end of June. And then there is Montreal, leading the East.

The difference? Well, of the teams in Montreal’s puck-possession neighbourhood, Edmonton ranks dead last in save percentage, thanks in part to defenders who sometimes find themselves staring out the classroom window at the sky, and Arizona is 28th, partly because Mike Smith was a top-three goaltender three seasons ago, and the voodoo deserted him after that.

Carey Price, though, is good voodoo. In the last five years, he’s fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least 100 starts, and second only to Henrik Lundqvist (.924 to .922) among goalies with 200 starts or more. Over the last three years, only Tuukka Rask and Schneider rank higher. Of the 17 goalies who have appeared in at least 100 games this season and last, he’s No. 1, dusting Rask .931 to .925.

This is the age of Price. As my friend Arpon Basu in Montreal observes, his ability to erase mistakes allows guys like P.K. Subban to dance around defenders at the opposing blue line, with only Price behind him. Price sees the most shots in the league, and has had so many nights that leave writers staring at their screens, wondering what words they haven’t used yet. Acrobats are better with a safety net.

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And despite that, despite Subban and Max Pacioretty, there are eight teams that score less than Montreal: Florida, and seven of the top eight teams in the McEichel derby. Clearly, had Price simply been awful, or badly hurt, the Canadiens could have had a shot at McDavid, who charts as a generational player, a Crosby, or more.

Instead, they might only play for the Stanley Cup, because of Carey Price. Some MVP. Pretty inconsiderate of him, when you think about it.