SUBBAN SMOOTH AS EVER AHEAD OF ‘EMOTIONAL’ RETURN TO BELL CENTRE
Former Habs star eager to hit the ice that was once home — and smell the hotdogs
When P.K. Subban showed up for a 1 p.m. news conference at the Bell Centre Wednesday, the arena was being set up for a Billy Talent concert.
Subban stood out — as he always does — walking past the roadies in their work clothes while dressed impeccably in a light grey suit with a white shirt and blue tie, matching the ribbon on his left lapel holding the Meritorious Service Decoration medal he received earlier in the day from Governor General David Johnston for his 2015 pledge to raise $10 million for the Montreal Children’s Hospital through his foundation.
Less than a year after that pledge, the Canadiens traded Subban to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shea Weber and Thursday night Subban will play his first game against his former team at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., SN, RDS, TSN Radio 690).
Subban greeted a packed conference room at the Bell Centre with: “Bonjour ... hello! What’s up, guys, girls?” The man is just so smooth. During his 20-minute news conference, Subban talked about how it was “an honour” to have been able to wear a Canadiens jersey for seven seasons.
“There’s no ice in the building right now … it’s covered up,” Subban said. “But you don’t have to see the ice to know what this building means. You just got to look up in the rafters and see the names and the jerseys. That’s what it’s about.”
Subban had dreams of one day seeing his own name and jersey hanging from the Bell Centre rafters, wanting very badly to bring the Stanley Cup to Montreal with his father a lifelong Canadiens fan.
If Subban does it now it will be as a Predator — and don’t bet he won’t bring the Cup to Montreal if that ever happens.
“I think revenge is the wrong word,” Subban said about his feelings going into his first game against the Canadiens. “The only thing that I would be upset about is the fact that I made a promise to the fans and to the organization, the city, about bringing a Stanley Cup back. Not only did I make a promise to the fans, the city and the organization, but I made the promise to teammates as well.”
Subban said he used to talk a lot with Canadiens goalie Carey Price about what it would be like to win a Stanley Cup together in Montreal back when they would celebrate victories with triple low fives that were eventually outlawed by coach Michel Therrien, who was fired last month. Now Subban will be trying to put the puck past Price.
“Not only is it going to be an emotional game, it’s an important one,” Subban said. “Those points are important. It will be a fun game, it will be a fun atmosphere.” It certainly will be. Subban said the thing he misses most about the Bell Centre is the smell.
“The smell of hotdogs,” he said with that $72-million smile (the amount of his eight-year contract). “I miss that.
“I don’t think it’s fair to try to anticipate how you’re going to feel,” he added about Thursday’s game. “I think you wait for the moment and take it in. As far as the emotion in the building and what may or may not happen, going into it my focus is going to be on the two points. But, obviously, I look forward to playing in a building in front of fans that I played in for so long, played some big games in and some fun games.”
The thing he is looking forward to most?
“Hopefully seeing Mme. Béliveau there,” Subban said with another big smile, referring to the wife of late Hall of Famer Jean Béliveau, a woman who remains one of Subban’s biggest fans.
While the Canadiens got off to a great start this season, going 9-0-1 in their first 10 games with Weber posting 4-6-10 totals and a plus-14, the Predators and Subban started slowly.
But the Predators are hot now, coming into Montreal on a four-game winning streak while scoring at least four goals in six straight games for the first time in franchise history, going 5-0-1. Subban, who missed 16 games with an upper-body injury, is also hot now with 1-9-10 totals and a plus-5 in his last eight games, giving him 8-22-30 totals in 47 games and a minus-6. Weber has 14-23-37 totals in 64 games and is a plus-9.
While Subban wanted to finish his career with the Canadiens and wasn’t happy about being traded, he still refuses to say anything negative about the club — at least publicly — or the city.
“I don’t think there’s any question that everybody in Montreal knows that I’m a positive ambassador for this city and for the organization as well,” he said. “I’ve always done that.
“I’m only upset about the opportunity that I didn’t have to bring a Stanley Cup back.”
No matter what he says, Subban will be looking for a little revenge Thursday.
You don’t have to see the ice to know what this building means. You just got to look up in the rafters and see the names and the jerseys.