HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES
Beloved ex-Hab P.K. Subban shows his comedy chops on Monday night CBC special, Bill Brownstein writes.
The worlds of hockey and comedy don’t often collide, but they did last summer, producing one of the biggest stories of 2016.
P.K. Subban, one of the most beloved players ever to play for the Montreal Canadiens, was traded to the Nashville Predators on June 29.
By Aug. 1, Subban was back in Montreal, hosting a Just for Laughs festival gala, a fundraiser for Subban’s Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, for which he has pledged to raise $10 million.
Not surprisingly, the Subban comedy gala became the hottest ticket in town, even hotter than one for a Habs game. It also proved to be the highlight of the festival.
Those who missed the all-star defenceman delivering one-liners now have an opportunity to catch P.K. Subban: Shots Fired, Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. on CBC.
Clearly, timing had a lot to do with the decision to air the show a day before Subban and his Predators play the Habs, in Nashville, for the first time since the trade.
The gala was perhaps more P.K. love-in than comedy spectacle, a fitting farewell party to the transplanted Torontonian who so embraced Montreal.
While mirth was much in abundance, the evening could have just as easily been described as a Just for Tears event.
Subban didn’t pull his punchlines. Shots — some nasty — were taken at Habs management. Act or not, anger over his sudden departure appeared to lurk.
But give P.K. props for being ever-smooth, composed and charismatic.
Subban conceded he has had to adapt to new cities before. In Montreal, he learned French. In Hamilton, “I learned to breathe through my mouth.” And in Nashville, he figured he would have to “learn being pulled over by cops.”
Even last summer, Subban was beginning to immerse himself in the Nashville cultural scene by boning up on C&W tunes. In fact, he even dedicated such country songs as I Fall to Pieces to Bruins foe Brad Marchand, Good Luck with That to former Habs teammates trying to win a Stanley Cup with coach Michel Therrien’s system, and Take This Job and Shove It to Habs general-manager Marc Bergevin — the man who traded P.K.
To further display his apparent dismay — when he asked for a beer on stage — he rejected the one offered him: “Not that Molson stuff.” Message no doubt received by Habs owner Geoff Molson.
Subban was aided and abetted at the gala by some sharp comedy from Dom Irrera, Jeremy Hotz and the Sklar Brothers.
Though Subban has been praised for his self-assured stage presence and innate comedy skills, he is quick to deflect credit to writer Patrick Dussault and the Just for Laughs team.
Nonetheless, Subban must have had jitters, particularly in light of the recent trade.
“Actually, I wasn’t too nervous. I compare that experience almost like playing at the Bell Centre, having all those people giving standing ovations at the beginning of the show. I didn’t want to go up there and flop,” he notes.
“Honestly, though, it took a lot to hold back the tears and it was pretty emotional, having all those people being there to support me.”
As for his fear that he might have to learn to be pulled over on the road by Nashville cops, such has yet to transpire. “Not yet,” he cracks.
“I don’t look forward to being pulled over, but the cops here have been great. People in general have been great.
“I think that the one thing that helped me a lot going into it is that I’m not really afraid to make a mistake. And maybe that’s how I play the game, too. When you have that kind of mentality, you can get more positives than negatives out of something.”
Subban is unequivocal in stating he has huge respect for the Canadiens organization, including Bergevin, Therrien and Molson.
“My time in Montreal was just amazing. When the trade happened, the disappointment was not being able to win a Stanley Cup with guys I had played with for such a long time. And also leaving all the friends that I made in Montreal. I had such a strong connection with the city and I think the fans enjoyed that.
“But a trade is all part of the business, and you have to get over that and not be upset. And there are no hard feelings.”
Subban admits to being pretty pumped about playing against the Habs for the first time on Jan. 3 in Nashville.
“Both teams have done well. I think everyone knows that once Carey Price returned that the sky was the limit for that team. For us, we’re finding our way in our conference and the boys are playing well. But we haven’t played our best hockey yet. It will be an exciting and an emotional game.”
My time in Montreal was just amazing. When the trade happened, the disappointment was not being able to win a Stanley Cup with guys I had played with for such a long time.