Montreal Canadiens rookies Carey Price and Kyle Chipchura were demoted Tuesday to the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.

To fill the roster spots, Montreal promoted goaltender Jaroslav Halak and forward Corey Locke, who, like Price and Chipchura, helped Hamilton win the Calder Cup last season.

Rookie Carey Price was demoted by the Canadiens on Tuesday.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Price, 20, has impressed for the most part, posting a 9-7-3 record with a 2.90 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 19 appearances for the Canadiens.

But he struggled in his past three starts and that, combined with Cristobal Huet's return to health, prompted team management to ship him to Hamilton for seasoning. 

Despite the demotion, Price, a Vancouver native drafted fifth overall in 2005, remains Montreal's top netminding prospect. 

Chipchura, 21, fell victim to general manager Bob Gainey's edict to improve faceoff efficiency, winning just 43.8 per cent of his draws.

The Westlock, Alta., native registered four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 36 games with Montreal, which ranks 27th overall in faceoffs.  

Halak went 9-7-2 for the Bulldogs with a 2.26 GAA, .922 SP and two shutouts in 19 games.

The 22-year-old Czech played 16 games for the Canadiens last season, going 10-6 with two shutouts, and once more this season.

Locke, 23, topped the Bulldogs with 28 points in 34 games, including 12 goals.

The Toronto native was drafted in the fourth round (113th overall) by the Canadiens in 2003, but has yet to play in the NHL.

With files from the Canadian Press