Is P.K. Subban a "nigger"?

Note from Ed.: Today's topics are hockey and a certain Canadian hockey player, so we're turning the blog over to our old and cher ami, Poor Len Canayen.

Trending on Twitter today are the words "P.K. Subban" and "nigger". [Notice he didn't say "N-bomb". We're not afraid to call a spade a spade. Ed.] Seems that following the Montréal Canadiens double overtime victory over the big bad Boston Bruins last night, some Beantowners ranted and roared about the said P.K., a person of colour who scored the game-winning goal for les Glorieux... not to mention the first goal as well.

Remarks were made that were, frankly, racist and offensive. It was suggested, inter alia, that a "nigger" should not be playing a white man's game. Walt and I have been highly critical of Mr. Subban in times past, but wish to make it clear that our expressed wish to have him traded to some other team are not based on his race. Please reread:
"Memo to Marc Bergevin: It's time to trade Subban!"
"P.K. can't be trusted on the P.K.!" and
"M Bergevin, les amateurs du CH vous prient! [Don't worry. It's in English! Ed.]

Our quarrel with P.K. Subban is, first of all, that he's not the great defenceman he's cracked up to be.

But (I hear you say) he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, and he was chosen to play on Team Canada in the 2014 Olympics. I have two words for you: political correctness! Yes, he was on Team Canada, and used by coach Mike Babcock for all of 12 minutes in Canada's easiest game (against Austria). Why? Because Babcock -- a pretty savvy hockey guy -- knows that when it comes to defence, P.K. is a liability. Which is what I said.

Look at the picture above. See P.K. skate. See his knuckles drag on the ice when he makes a turn. See him fall down. Why does he keep doing that? I'll tell you why. Because he's top-heavy, that's why! Not unlike a certain African animal whose genus begins with "G". A disproportionate amount of his size and strength is in his upper body.

So what does P.K. do? He tries to make a virtue of it by doing the Savardian spin-o-rama on offence and, on defence, diving to block a shot, sliding across in front of Carey Price or Peter Budaj, playing the hero. Trouble is, the other teams are onto that trick. All a smart opponent has to do is wait until Subban dives, then lift the puck over him. As Don Cherry often says, a defenceman can't do much when he's flat on the ice.

Speaking of which, Donless got called out in at least one Canadian newspaper today for daring to call attention (again) to Subban's several missed attempts to throw a mean hip check. Mr. Cherry says a hip check is great if you connect with the onrushing forward -- the way Alexei Emelin does -- but you're screwed if you miss -- as P.K. Subban often does.

All of which makes him risky on defence, as anyone paying attention could have seen last night. Yes, he scored two goals, and good for him. But he was the goat on Boston's third goal, the one which sent the game into overtime. He got running around in the Canadiens' zone, then stopped and stood like a pylon in front of Carey Price while trying to figure out what to do next.

Our other problem with P.K. Subban is his constant acting like the Big Star he obviously wants to be. Team management put a stop to the high-five-low-five routine he did at the end of games two seasons ago, but he still stands at the gate (after a win) and high-fives the other players as they come off the ice, as if he was the coach and the captain. Nobody else does that, not even the coach or the captain.

It's the show-boating and hot-dogging that makes people call P.K. Subban a "nigger". He acts like a person of colour playing in the NFL or NBA. But this is the NHL -- National HOCKEY League. Hockey players are expected to be modest and sportsmanlike. Yes, even the greatest ones, like Wayne Gretzky and Jean Béliveau. A more courtly and gentlemanly player than Béliveau cannot be imagined. A class act all the way, on and off the ice.

But that kind of modesty doesn't suit P.K. Oh no. Instead, we see the tugging at the "CH" logo on his chest, the alpha male breast-beating, the aforementioned high fives and suchlike showing off. That's nigger behaviour! And before you accuse me of a racist remark, let me point out that not all black people carry on like that. Can you imagine the Prez doing that kind of thing after sinking a 3-pointer on the White House basketball court?

OK, maybe that's stretching it a bit. But closer to home, there's the example of Wayne Simmonds, who's almost as black as Subban. He plays for the Philadelphia Flyers and plays pretty well too -- got a hat trick in their win over the Rangers last week. Yes, he'll pump his fist in the air and do the usual fly-by -- like all the other guys -- but none of this "look how great I am" stuff.

And guess what? You don't hear people booing Wayne Simmonds in every arena he goes to, every time he steps onto the ice. And I would guess that he is called a "nigger" rarely, if ever. Why? Because he doesn't act like one!