Montreal, Canada

The Montreal Canadians have given goaltender Carey Price a six-year contract extension worth $39-million

"It's an honor to put on the Habs uniform and I'll hopefully have the opportunity to play there for a lot longer now," said Price, who became a restricted free agent Sunday.

"Now I can just focus on the goal of winning a Stanley Cup. I don't have to worry about re-signing every other year. So I'm looking forward to working towards our goal."

The move was announced by new Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin exactly two months after he was hired.

"I'm very happy," Bergevin said after ironing out details of the deal. "I think Carey brings what we need moving forward. He's a top, young goalie in the League. Having him in net for the next six years gives us a chance to be competitive."

Price's $6.4 million annual salary would be third among goalies, behind Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne ($7 million) and Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist ($6.875 million).

The deal is the richest ever handed out by the Canadiens, eclipsing the five-year, $30 million contract signed by Michael Cammalleri on July 1, 2009.

As starting goaltender, Price is expecting pressure from opponents raring to make it to the playoffs.

"There's a tremendous amount of pressure on us no matter what you're making. It might make you a target a little bit more, but being a goaltender you're a target anyway," said Price.

Price has already played 271 NHL games with a record of 38-28-6 record, eight shutouts, a .923 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average. He tied for the League lead in wins, was third in shutouts and his GAA and save percentage ranked in the top 10 in the League.

"This is huge for me," Price said. "It's an honor to come back and to have the vote of confidence from the organization. It's nice to see them show so much confidence in me, and now it's up to me to prove them right."

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