Subban and Emelin reunite in Nashville
Former Habs teammates back together as Predators’ No. 1 defensive pairing
The No. 1 defence pair for the Nashville Predators has a familiar look for Canadiens fans.
With Ryan Ellis on the shelf after a knee injury, Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette has reunited P.K. Subban and Alexei Emelin.
“They’ve been great,” said Laviolette.
“They play against other teams’ top lines. Sometimes we switch it up because we have (Mattias) Ekholm and (Roman) Josi, and we know Ek can play with Subban. But we had a little bit of history from Subban and Emelin in Montreal and this is where we’ve settled over the last 10, 12 games.”
Laviolette said Subban has been a key player since he arrived from Montreal in the blockbuster 2016 trade that sent Shea Weber to the Canadiens.
“He played well in the regular season and into the summer,” said Laviolette.
“He found good chemistry with Ekholm. They were a terrific pair. They were big, they were strong and they were able to get the puck out of our zone. They played against some heavy lines and talented lines and did an effective job.”
Almost 18 months after the trade, Subban and Weber both say the deal is in the past and Subban said Wednesday ’s game against the Canadiens was just another game. Sort of.
“I didn’t have an opportunity to play against Montreal when they came here last season but, for our team, it’s just another hockey game,” said Subban.
“We’ve been playing a lot of good hockey lately and we want to keep it going.”
Subban said it’s important to focus on every shift because “this is the best hockey I’ve seen in the NHL since I’ve been here.”
Subban said he was happy to see the Predators pick up Emelin after the Canadiens lost him in the expansion draft.
“I had a close relationship, not just with Emmy, but with all the Russian players on the team and I was able to get together with them this summer at (Andrei Markov’s) wedding,” said Subban. “It was a great time and I was glad to see Emmy coming to our team because he brings so many intangibles. When we’re on top of our game, we have the ability to play physical, but that’s the main part of his game. He’s a physical player and it makes it tough to play against him.”
Subban said he was surprised that the Canadiens failed to retain Markov.
“I was a Habs fan before I was a player and growing up watching him, I always envisioned him in a Montreal Canadiens uniform,” said Subban. “To see him still playing hockey and not with the (Canadiens) it’s a little weird, but it’s part of the business. I know that he wanted to be a Montreal Canadien for his entire career and, in my opinion — and I wasn’t alive to see all the great defencemen who played in the Montreal organization — I think he has to be among the top defencemen to wear that jersey. It must have been tough for him to move on.”