Norris is nice, but Subban covets Cup
The Stanley Cup is the only trophy the Habs defenceman covets
P.K. Subban is a Norris Trophy finalist for the second time in his career, but said his goal is to win another trophy.
“There’s nothing I want more than a Stanley Cup,” Subban said after the Canadiens practised Wednesday morning in Brossard. “(Carey Price) congratulated me and I said we are both going (to Las Vegas for the June 24 NHL Awards gala) but let’s win the Cup and we can bring the whole team.”
Price will be in Las Vegas to pick up the Jennings Trophy for the lowest goals-against average and on Wednesday he was named one of the three finalists for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. He’s also a heavy favourite to win the Vézina Trophy, which goes to the top goaltender.
The Canadiens will take the next step toward hockey’s ultimate prize at the Bell Centre Friday night when they open their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which ousted the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 Wednesday night in Game 7 of their series.
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin met with the media after practice Wednesday morning and said he didn’t have a preference whether his team would face the Red Wings or the Lightning in the second round.
“Whoever comes out of it that’s who we’ll play,” Bergevin said. “If our goal is to move forward, we can’t pick and choose who we’re going to play. It’s going to be hard, but I have confidence whoever we play we have a chance to win.”
The Canadiens won’t have defenceman Nathan Beaulieu in the lineup for the start of the second round. Beaulieu suffered an upper-body injury when he was hit by Erik Karlsson in Game 3 of the first-round series against Ottawa. Bergevin didn’t shed any light on Beaulieu’s injury, but said the defenceman would miss at least the first four games of the series. Beaulieu skated for about 30 minutes before practice with athletic therapist Vincent Roof-Racine.
Speaking about his Norris Trophy nomination after practice, Subban said: “It’s always great when you get recognized individually, but we have a lot of players on our team that have had great seasons individually this year and when you have a bunch of guys who can put together good seasons, the team has success.
“If you look around the league, there are a lot of players who lead the league in scoring or are having great years, but they’re not in the playoffs or they’re not doing well. For us, our accomplishment is how we’ve played all year. This is the best team I’ve played on since I’ve been in Montreal. I’ve had success because of it.”
Subban is the only one of the Norris Trophy finalists still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. Karlsson’s Ottawa Senators lost to the Canadiens in six games in the first round, while Drew Doughty and the Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs.
For most of his career, Subban has been regarded as a high-risk, high-reward offensive player, but he has concentrated on becoming an all-around defenceman.
“Every player has a label as to what kind of players they are, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true,” Subban said. “Since Marc Bergevin and (coach) Michel Therrien have taken over the team, my game has gone up. They’ve worked really hard to improve my game. When I first started playing for Michel three years ago, they said: ‘You’re a good player, but we want to make you an even better player.’ There’s been no shortage of them holding me accountable and that’s made me a better player.”
Bergevin said Subban’s success was the result of maturity.
“Goaltenders take the longest (to develop) and then defencemen, and P.K. follows that mould,” Bergevin said. “He’s getting better as he gets more mature. You get exposed more as a defenceman because it’s either a goal or a scoring chance. There’s a lot of little details, taking lanes away, not letting pucks behind you, learning to slide at the right time. Those are things that he’s learning to do better and he’s been rewarded.”
Said Subban: “This is my fifth full season in the league and it’s more than enough time to see the changes. My game’s making strides, but there’s more for me to improve on and the fun thing is I’ve come up with a bunch of players that are also trying to become elite payers and be consistent every night.”
Subban said he has benefited from the play of his teammates, particularly defence partner Andrei Markov.
“You have to talk about Andrei Markov and my ability to play with him and the success we’ve had as a group,” Subban said. “He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what he does on the ice. A lot of attention is going to be on me, but I wouldn’t be in this situation without Marky.”
That prompted a reporter to ask Bergevin if he ever played a mentoring role in his 17 years as an NHL defenceman.
“I only mentored one player and I mentored him right out of the league,” Bergevin said.
Dale Weise said he has a new appreciation for Subban since joining the Canadiens.
“Obviously, I knew about him, but what I didn’t see from a distance — from just watching the highlights on TV — was what a competitor he is,” Weise said. “If he wanted to be a point-per-game player he could be, he’s certainly creative enough, but he’s so focused on the defensive aspects of his game.
“It’s easy to see the offence he brings to our team, but he’s a beast in the defensive zone,” Weise added. “He’s physical, he’s got a great stick and when he gets the puck back, he knows how to protect it. That may be the most overlooked aspect of his game. (Subban) lives for those big games, he lives for those big moments. Whether people are booing him or cheering him, he uses it as fuel and it makes him better.”
Veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar was excused from practice Wednesday for family reasons.