GM’S ‘HUGE GAMBLE’ ON SUBBAN HAS PAID OFF FOR PREDATORS
On and off the ice, flashy defenceman has been great fit during first year in Nashville
David Poile was nervous.
The Nashville Predators general manager is always nervous when he makes a trade. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Trades are gambles. And over the years, perhaps no GM has gambled more than Poile.
Three years after drafting Seth Jones fourth overall, Poile sent the young defenceman to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. He traded Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg before the latter had even played a game in North America. He packaged Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for James Neal.
But trading Shea Weber was different.
Weber had been the Predators’ captain and beloved bearded face of the franchise. He defined Nashville’s defensive identity, leading the team to eight playoff appearances in 11 years. As Poile said, “there was no downside to how Weber conducted himself on and off the ice.”
He added: “And then there’s P.K. Subban.”
Poile admits trading Weber for Subban last summer was “a huge gamble.”
“P.K. is different,” he says. “My favourite expression is (Subban) gets a lot of touches every day. Everything that happens is a story about P.K. He just can’t help himself. So was I nervous? I’m nervous about every trade I make. But this one was huge.”
Almost a year later, the gamble is paying off.
The Predators are in the conference final for the first time in their 19-year history and Subban has been a big part of their success. He might not be the best player on the team or even the best defenceman, but the same guy who was run out of Montreal because of a supposed me-first attitude has surprised critics with his team-first approach.
Heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Anaheim Ducks, Subban ranked third among Nashville defencemen with one goal and seven assists in 13 games. But it’s not about points or playing the hero. Like Weber, who was a rock for the Predators, Subban has accepted a shutdown role that has shined a light on his defensive play.
Predators head coach Peter Laviolette called Subban “a really good 200-foot, two-way player for us” whose attention to detail in the defensive end has been “on the money.” Ryan Ellis, who said Subban’s first goal as a Predator featured “a really big celly,” described his teammate as “responsible.”
Those aren’t words Subban heard in Montreal, where he was portrayed as a riverboat gambler more concerned with padding his stats and building his brand than winning a championship. It wasn’t true. But that was the image that made Poile nervous.
Before pulling the trigger on the blockbuster deal, Poile did his due diligence, talking to everyone from hockey scouts to marketing managers to determine what effect Subban would have on the Predators, both on and off the ice. Poile considered Subban’s personal brand and charitable work a positive, especially in a city like Nashville, where hockey isn’t necessarily the No. 1 sport.
Poile didn’t want to change Subban. But after making the trade, he made sure they were on the same page.
“The first meeting I just told him, ‘I’m the general manager of the team and my goal is to win a Stanley Cup,’ ” said Poile, who then asked Subban for his goals.
The answer: to win a Stanley Cup.
Then Poile said, “As far as all the other things you’re doing — because my opinion, and it’s my opinion, is that it affected your relationship with Montreal and possibly was one of the reasons why you were traded — we’ll support you in anything and everything you’re doing, just as long as we know what you’re doing. So the left hand will know what the right hand is doing and we’ll walk together. Just as long as hockey is your No. 1 focus.”
The Predators have not had any issues with Subban. Neither has Subban had issues with Nashville. He was an instant hit in the city, whether it was singing at the honky-tonk bar Tootsies or pumping up the crowd at a Tennessee Titans football game. NBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury once called Subban a “clown” for dancing around during the pre-game warm-up, but he hasn’t become a distraction. If anything, he’s bought in to what the team is selling.
“I don’t know if that has to do with the weather in Nashville or not, but we’re really enjoying being a part of this post-season for sure,” Subban said. “We all love each other in that dressing room. I think it’s just the culture. It’s the culture of the organization. And like I said, the city’s really embraced this team and hockey, and makes it fun for us to come back home.”
Subban had 10 goals and 40 points in 66 games this season, but it wasn’t an easy first year for him. He missed time because of injury and struggled to find what he called “his niche” on the team. It wasn’t until later in the year, when Subban found chemistry with Mattias Ekholm as part of Nashville’s shutdown pairing, that he started to make a bigger impact.
“I said to myself at the time — and I still believe it — I thought this trade is going to be better a year from now for us than it would be for this year,” said Poile, referencing the ages of Weber (31) and Subban (28).
Nashville won nine of its last 15 games, entering the post-season as the No. 8 seed.
Now, with the team on the doorstep of the Stanley Cup final, the spotlight is shining on Subban and Nashville.
“When players think they are bigger than the team or don’t listen to the coach, things go awry,” Poile said. “Right now we have everybody buying in. P.K. is a terrific hockey player. I think he’s a real good person. The P.K. brand, which in some circles could be viewed as a negative, in Nashville it’s all good.”