Bob Hartley blames one man for cutting short Carey Price's career.

There are growing concerns surrounding the health and future of Montreal Canadiens star goaltender Carey Price and over the weekend, former National Hockey League head coach Bob Hartley poured gasoline on to the fire.

Hartley recently made comments on Montreal's 91.9 BPM radio station that can only be described as very inflammatory, comments that appear to place the blame for Carey Price's current health concerns squarely on the shoulders of another active player in the NHL. When Hartley joined the station for his scheduled appearance, he wasted no time in getting to the point of the matter.

"May 17th, 2014. Chris Kreider collides with Carey Price," said Hartley. "Intentionally or not."

For those who don't know the reference being referred to by Hartley here, he is speaking of a now infamous incident during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs in which a collision between Kreider and Price resulted in a major injury for the Canadiens goaltender.

It was a controversial incident and many have debated over the years if Kreider could have pulled up, and whether or not he may have crashed into the goaltender intentionally. During his comments, Hartley would draw comparisons to an infamous former NHL enforcer in Edward Carpentier making his feelings on the incident rather plain to see.

"I think Chris Kreider knew what he wanted," added Hartley.

Hartley left no doubt about the fact that he blames Kreider for Price's shortened NHL career, stating it about as plainly as you possibly can.

"Even if he would never admit it, Chris Kreider put the breaks on Carey Price's incredible career."

This is a very bold accusation on the part of Hartley and one that I'm confident is going to spark plenty of debate. While it's certainly possible the injury would have had a long term impact on Price's health, the fact of the matter is that Price played pretty well when he came back from his injury. He appeared in just 12 games the following season but did record a 2.06 goals against average and a .934 save percentage over that stretch, similar to the numbers he posted the season prior to the injury with a 1.96 goals against average and a .033 save percentage.

It's also worth noting that this is Bob Hartley's opinion on the matter and as far as I know Carey Price has never suggested that Chris Kreider is responsible for his current injury woes. Given the reaction when Hartley was making his comments on Friday though, it would appear that he isn't alone in this opinion.