Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette - Yesterday
P.K. Subban takes part in a ceremony before the Canadiens' home opener at the Bell Centre in 2015.
© Provided by The Gazette
I’m still not over it.
P.K. Subban, who announced his retirement from the National Hockey League on Tuesday, was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Nashville Predators on June 29, 2016, in exchange for Shea Weber. I never had anything against the Man Mountain, as Weber is known, but I’m still not ready to forgive Habs management for shipping the Norris Trophy-winning defenceman out of town.
You’ll never convince me this was a pure hockey trade. Then-general manager Marc Bergevin and head coach Michel Therrien always seemed to have a problem with Subban and his larger-than-life personality. The Habs much preferred a taciturn, buttoned-down dude like Weber.
But Subban connected with Montrealers and most Habs fans in a way no player had this century. He was so exciting on the ice. Sure he made mistakes, but he also provided so much razzle-dazzle, like the time he jumped out of the penalty box in that 2014 series against the Boston Bruins and ignited the Bell Centre by scoring on a breakaway.
He played ball hockey on the street in Westmount with a bunch of kids. He pledged to help raise $10 million for the Montreal Children’s Hospital and he called the hospital’s foundation on Monday to tell them that now that he’s retiring he’ll have even more time to help raise money for the hospital.
I’m still not over it.
P.K. Subban, who announced his retirement from the National Hockey League on Tuesday, was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Nashville Predators on June 29, 2016, in exchange for Shea Weber. I never had anything against the Man Mountain, as Weber is known, but I’m still not ready to forgive Habs management for shipping the Norris Trophy-winning defenceman out of town.
You’ll never convince me this was a pure hockey trade. Then-general manager Marc Bergevin and head coach Michel Therrien always seemed to have a problem with Subban and his larger-than-life personality. The Habs much preferred a taciturn, buttoned-down dude like Weber.
But Subban connected with Montrealers and most Habs fans in a way no player had this century. He was so exciting on the ice. Sure he made mistakes, but he also provided so much razzle-dazzle, like the time he jumped out of the penalty box in that 2014 series against the Boston Bruins and ignited the Bell Centre by scoring on a breakaway.
He played ball hockey on the street in Westmount with a bunch of kids. He pledged to help raise $10 million for the Montreal Children’s Hospital and he called the hospital’s foundation on Monday to tell them that now that he’s retiring he’ll have even more time to help raise money for the hospital.
It was a beautiful story, a Jamaican-Canadian from Toronto who grew up a Habs fan and idolized Jean Béliveau. Subban and Béliveau’s widow, Élise, would blow kisses at each other at the arena. The Canadiens and Subban were a match made in hockey heaven and it speaks volumes about that era’s management that they felt fine with booting him out of town.
“He’s a great guy; he’s done a lot for the city, especially with the hospital,” said Louis Paillier, who was walking down Sherbrooke St. in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Tuesday. “I’m a Leafs fan, so a couple of years ago I would’ve loved to have him on the team. Recently not so much. He’s a nice guy, a really big personality and I think he’s going to go into broadcasting, so that’s going to be great for him.”
Julian Sargisson is also a Subban fan.
“I always admired him as a player when he was with the Canadiens, and as a member of the community he helped a great deal raising funds for hospitals and sick children,” Sargisson said. “I thought he was an all-around good guy.
“I understand that there was negative discourse. I don’t think his relationship with the coach at the time (Therrien) was very good. I’m not sure his teammates felt the same way. And he was an extraordinary athlete. It must be increasingly difficult … for a player of colour, any minority player in the NHL, which is still predominantly white.”
Added Louise Fournier: “We love P.K. He was a great athlete. He was a great Montrealer. He contributed a lot to our city. We are next door to the McGill University (Health Centre) and he did so much to (raise) public awareness (about) sick children. So thank you P.K. and have a nice retirement.”
“I don’t think he was a superstar. I think he was good, had a lot of energy, had a lot of panache and that was excellent,” Steven Appelbaum, a professor in the John Molson School of Business, said about P.K. Subban on Tuesday upon hearing about his retirement.© Dave Sidaway
Steven Appelbaum, a professor in the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University who teaches human-resources management, said Subban is leaving at the right time.
“The question is: What’s the time to say, ‘I’ve finally had it’ — when you don’t go over the line and then people remember ‘he was really bad’ rather than the good memories of when he was really good,” Appelbaum said.
“He left (the Habs) and his career sort of plateaued, went down, went flat, and now his agent had been trying to get him connected to these other teams. I believe when you’re at that point, you’re really at the end of your career but you don’t want to give it up. And that’s the problem. That’s when athletes wind up with a negative memory of how good they really were.
“He was (very good) when he was here, but I don’t think he was a superstar. I think he was good, had a lot of energy, had a lot of panache and that was excellent.”
Even Montrealers who don’t follow hockey knew and loved Subban.
“I don’t really know much about hockey … but I know he’s very involved with children and hospitals and I think that’s really great,” Juliette Garcia said. “I think he was really loved by a lot of people in Montreal. It’s kind of like the only name I know in hockey. I think he really did a lot of good stuff in the city.”
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