Subban will get last laugh in this joke of a trade

GM’s credibility has taken a hit, writes Stu Cowan.

Here’s something to ponder in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s blockbuster trade: will the players in the Canadiens locker-room — who obviously had a problem with P.K. Subban — be better now without him, or will the former Norris Trophy winner be better in Nashville without them? I’ll pick the latter. Subban’s trade to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber proved one thing: don’t believe anything Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin says. Bergevin’s nose probably grew a bit when he told reporters at the NHL entry draft he wasn’t shopping Subban and simply had to answer the phone when other GMs called. When asked if it was realistic that a trade could happen, the GM said: “I would say no.”

You knew Canadiens’ management had a big problem with Subban last February in Colorado after the defenceman lost control of the puck just inside the Avalanche blue line and fell down. It resulted in an unthreatening three-on-three the other way, but when captain Max Pacioretty gave up on his backcheck, Jarome Iginla scored what proved to be the winning goal for the Avalanche.

After the game, coach Michel Therrien pointed the finger directly at Subban for the loss, calling it an “individualistic” play. It didn’t seem to matter to the coach that his captain stopped backchecking.

Therrien never liked Subban going back to his unemployed coaching days as a talking head on RDS’s L’Antichambre panel. He might be back there before the end of next season.

Did Subban make mistakes with the Canadiens? Of course. When you carry the puck as much as he does, those things will happen. But none of Subban’s mistakes came from a lack of effort.

Subban’s personality is obviously going to rub some people the wrong way. He’s confident and cocky — which is a good mix to thrive in Montreal’s hockey fishbowl. Just ask Patrick Roy and Guy Lafleur. The bigger the game, the better Subban always played. Former Canadien Georges Laraque — who is friends with Subban — probably hit the nail on the head when he told TSN Radio 690’s Chris Nilan after the season that P.K.’s teammates were jealous of him and that he wouldn’t be surprised to see him traded. If jealousy was a problem, then there’s a bigger issue in that locker-room than Subban. It’s too bad some of his confidence didn’t rub off on his former teammates.

Bergevin’s legacy could end up being the man who didn’t want Hall of Famer Larry Robinson behind his bench as an assistant coach — choosing childhood buddy J.J. Daigneault instead — and didn’t want a possible future Hall of Famer on his blue line, but really wanted Therrien in his foxhole.

Bergevin’s next move should be to give the captaincy to Weber to see if he can clean up whatever problems remain in that room. The 6-foot-4, 236-pounder has a huge presence and comes in new, meaning everyone in the room has a fresh slate with him. Pacioretty is a super-nice guy and his teammates obviously love him by voting him captain, but he’s not a natural-born leader and proved that last season.

Subban and the Predators will be at the Bell Centre on March 2, but he will be back in Montreal before then to host P.K. Subban’s All-Star Comedy Gala at the Just For Laughs festival on Aug. 1.

If this trade doesn’t work out well for the Canadiens, Bergevin he will be able to hold his own comedy show in the future. People will laugh — if they aren’t crying.