Veteran defenseman P.K. Subban has seen his time come and go with the Montreal Canadiens as he now continues his journey outwards to Tennessee after having just been acquired by the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Shea Weber, according to a report from Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet.ca on Wednesday afternoon. His no-trade clause would have kicked in July 1.
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On the other side, Bergevin also believes the deal makes his Canadiens club better than it was yesterday.
Subban won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in the NHL in 2013 and Weber is considered the best active defenseman in the league to have never won a Norris. “I’m just happy to be in a situation where I can excel and feel good coming to the rink every day, [I feel good] about myself, about the team, about my position”.
Zarmati, 22, said although Weber is a very good defenceman, the all-star is simply not as dynamic as Subban. How much actually would come into play depends on when Weber decides to retire.
“He’s a hell of a defenceman”. He also averaged over 25 minutes a night for a 6th straight year.
“He’s a stud and you don’t expect to get something else when you get Shea Weber”, Bergevin said. “He is a complete rearguard”.
He called Subban a “polarizing figure” who seemed to cause dissension with management and teammates alike.
Though the Predators will be paying more short-term for Subban, it is well worth shedding Weber’s long-term contract with a high cap hit.
But Bergevin said reports of Subban not fitting in was blown out of proportion because of “the market we’re in”.
“Weber has a lot more experience than P.K.”, Moreau said.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Poile said it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to Weber.
In a conference call with reporters, he gently slid the shiv into his former team, expressing pleasure at joining a team that wanted him, and adding he felt closer than ever to winning a Stanley Cup. “On a scale of 10, I’m past nine and heading toward 10”, said Rémi Gsuoulet, as his son, Nolan, nodded solemnly.
“It is also one of the most hard decisions I’ve had to make as a general manager of the Montreal Canadiens”.
“This bothers me a lot, it sucks”.
Even in something as simple as completed passes, Subban’s numbers blow Weber’s out of the water, and this is without even getting into each player’s impact on shot attempt differentials, where Subban is perhaps the best possession defenceman in the National Hockey League the past four years – easily in the top five – and Weber is a consistent negative, despite playing with Josi. He has helped teams win a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics and a pair of World Junior Championships (2008 and 2009). The 26 year old Subban has six years left at $9 million on his contract while Weber, 30, has a whopping 10 years left with a cap hit just shy of $7.9 million. The deal will take him into his 40s. “I can tell you that”.
Chiarelli, appearing nearly sombre, noted Larsson’s size (six foot three and more than 200 pounds) and smarts and lauded his puck-moving ability and defensive play.
-The Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Casey Nelson to a two-year contract extension.
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Subban, a Toronto native, recorded six goals and 45 assists in 68 games last season for the Canadiens. Stamkos has played his entire eight-year career with the Lightning, scoring 312 goals and registering 562 points in 569 games.
