You’ve all heard by now that the Montreal Canadiens traded their 27-year-old superstar defenseman P.K. Subban for one of the most well-established and complete blue-liners in 30-year-old Shea Weber. With Subban’s salary cap hit of $9 million being replaced with Weber’s $7.85 million, general manager Marc Bergevin benefits from an additional $1.15 million in wiggle room of a salary cap that’s marginally going to increase over the next few years. As it stands right now, and barring any free agent acquisitions on Friday, the Habs benefit from approximately $9.25 million in space for the 2016-2017 season.
Before getting into further details regarding the trade and Bergevin’s press conference, here are a few quick tidbits to absorb:
Bergevin on whether he actively shopped Subban:
Bergevin: «Je n'ai jamais activement cherché à échanger Subban» https://t.co/0Skarty0bY
— La Presse (@LP_LaPresse) June 29, 2016
The GM’s answer to whether the team is better or not without Subban:
“I will not go into detail why we think we are a better team, but we feel we are a better team.… - a puzzling answer from Bergevin
— Ðrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) June 29, 2016
Subban’s response to if he felt “wanted… by the Habs’ organization:
I asked P.K. Subban if he felt unwanted by the Canadiens. pic.twitter.com/xWDsMqv2fY
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) June 29, 2016
Subban’s message to the fans in Montreal and Nashville, as well as confirming that his charitable work will continue as planned:
BREAKING NEWS: @PKSubban1 responds after being traded from the Canadiens to the Predators.https://t.co/nQjW6gnpiO
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) June 29, 2016
And finally, Weber’s power play contributions since 2013-2014 vs P.K.’s:
Power-Play Goals Scored Since 2013-14:#Habs Shea Weber - 31 (1st among D-men)#Preds P.K. Subban - 14 (T10th among D-men)
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 29, 2016
I know this trade rubs the large majority of fans and members of the media the wrong way, but there are indeed lots of benefits to bringing Weber aboard. I’ve adored watching Subban play for this team for so long, although I’m hard-pressed to believe that he wasn’t necessarily a part of the Habs’ long-term plans as he was offered a bridge contract a few years ago and subsequently resorted to arbitration in order to solidify the lucrative contact he earned. That must’ve left a bad taste in management’s mouth…
I prefer not to discuss whether head coach Michel Therrien and Subban ever got along- I believe the supposed feud between them has all but officially been confirmed. I also believe that Bergevin’s comments concerning how the team is better with Weber speaks volumes of what the organization truly thinks of Subban, which (somewhat) justifies why Subban says he feels “wanted… by Nashville.
With that in mind, the Habs bring in a 6’4… power play specialist who scored 20 goals last season and is significantly less of a liability in his own zone. He excels at clearing the front of the net and plays a complete game himself, despite what his -7 plus-minus rating from last season would have us all believe. He’s won two gold medals with Team Canada while Subban failed to crack the lineup despite winning the Norris Trophy in 2013.
There are nonetheless two glaring issues with this trade:
1- Weber will be 4 years older than Subban in August and has a lot of mileage from playing in the Western Conference, where travelling is significantly more taxing than in the East. 2- Weber is signed for another 10 years and will be 41 when his contract expires.
Moreover, Subban has made the Conference finals twice whereas Weber has not in his 9 years playing with the Predators. Still, Weber’s unanimous leadership abilities cannot be questioned as the former Nashville captain will surely shoulder (the reportedly struggling captain) Max Pacioretty for years to come, and will provide more insight to young defensemen such as Nathan Beaulieu, Mark Barberio and most notably, Mikhail Sergachev once he joins the team.
I speak for all of us when I say that we need a few days to absorb this trade, and the blow will be softened depending on how Bergevin proactively behaves come Friday’s free agency. Many are calling it the worst trade since Patrick Roy was sent to the Colorado Avalanche, and I can understand the sentiment, but only time will truly tell just who comes out on top as winners in this exchange.
One thing’s for sure, Bergevin is finally taking risks and chances that he seldom did in the past in order to improve his hockey club. As fans, we’ve all asked for him to dare to make a splash via trades, and it looks like he’s got a few more aces up his sleeve reserved for July 1st. I can confidently say that he will definitely acquire at least one top-six forward who will help the team sooner become a Stanley Cup contender, and there’s no telling what he’ll have in store come 2016-2017’s trade deadline day where there will be a possibility of bringing in a rental player who can boost this team’s chances of succeeding in the playoffs.