Carey Price opens up about his battles with alcohol.

It isn't easy holding up a mirror to your face and facing the worst of your demons head on and it is even more challenging to do so when letting the rest of the world in for a peek at those demons. It can however provide an important and valuable lesson to others and it is for that reason that former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has done just that.

Price was recently a guest on the UnHammered podcast with former National Hockey League enforcer Brantt Myhres and it was there that he opened up about his battles with alcohol addiction.

For Price, drinking alcohol and being social just came naturally at first.

"I've always been kind of a good time Charlie, you know hanging out with the boys," admitted Price.

The star netminder would continue down his path with alcohol for many years before coming to the realization that he was in need of help, a realization that he believes he came to thanks in large part to his family.

"It wasn't until later, I think especially when you start bringing in a different aspect into your life, like kids, you have more responsibilities," said Price. "At a certain point I was like 'I need to make my family my priority and my own health my priority.'"

Price also began to question how much the alcohol abuse was impacting his career as an NHL goaltender, especially when seeing the examples of the other hard working players around him.

"It starts wearing on you because you're like 'Am I being a professional? Am I truly giving it [my] all?'" said Price.

Finally, Price would check himself into a treatment facility when things reached a boiling point for him.

"I was there for 30 days," said Price of the treatment center he attended. "The facility I was at was a lot of self-reflectiveness, self-awareness which was really good for me."

Price revealed that he entered the treatment facility right after the Stanley Cup Final that he played in with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021. He indicated that all of the added stressors may have finally pushed him over the edge and made him seek treatment for his alcoholism.

"We had just gone to the Cup Finals, we had just lost in the Cup Finals, I had just gone through a surgery, there was a lot of things going on in my life that I think pushed me over the edge as that summer went on."

Price spoke highly of former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and how he handled Price's situation at the time.

"Very understanding," said Price of Bergevin. "We had a long conversation, an emotional one, what was said will obviously stay between us, very heartfelt."

Price admits that, although it took him some time to seek help, those closest to him were encouraging him to do so as well including his wife Angela.

"There have been times in my life where Angela was like 'You need to get control of yourself here' you know?" admitted Price."

Price indicated that he believes the high-stress environment of the National Hockey League may be a contributing factor for those who are both playing hockey at its highest level and struggling with addiction.

"I think a lot of it is just dealing with stress," admitted Price. "Hockey in general is high performance, we need results, when you think about it you're in a very stressful situation. So I think part of it too is being able to handle and deal with the stresses of being a high performance athlete."

Price does admit that sobriety hasn't always been an easy road to travel. The former Habs netminder admits that he felt excluded from things at times due to the fact that he wasn't drinking, but did add that it gets easier and easier every day.

"The further along I went along with this, you just feel more comfortable being yourself," said Price of being sober for two years."

Price says that getting sober has allowed him to be a better father for his children.

"How many days of your life have you wasted feeling like that," said Price of being hungover. "Now I wake up on Sunday morning and I'm making breakfast for the kids and being a present dad. I'm really thankful for that time."

The former Canadiens goaltender appears to be at a good place in his life and is even planning a camping trip in the near future with fellow former NHL player Jordin Tootoo. I wish him nothing but the best on his camping trip and whatever may come next.