The truth about all-star defenceman P.K. Subban

Note from Ed.: Regular readers of WWW may have remarked on the absence of Walt's sidekick, Poor Len Canayen, who has not graced this site since the Montréal Canadiens defeat in the NHL Eastern Conference final.

He seems to have emerged from his state of shock and has forwarded the following comment about P.K. Subban, the allegedly super defenceman for whom the Habs this month opened the vault, to the tune of C$72 million -- $65.5 million in real money -- spread over the next eight years.

Eh bien... I haven't said anything about the decision of Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens' management to make P.K. Subban the best-paid defenceman in the NHL, after letting go Josh Gorges, who could actually play his position and could have been resigned for half the money. I just don't understand it.

It's not as if I didn't tell them the truth about Subban's flaws, three times already this year. See "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!". For my pains, I've been called a bigot and other vile terms. And the Montréal moguls didn't heed my advice in any case.

OK then, Messrs Molson, Bergevin et al. You don't want to listen to me? Then listen to Alexei Kovalev, one of the Habs' best scorers of recent years. Even though he left the club five years ago, his heart is still in Montréal, it seems, and he is following the fortunes of les Glorieux closely. Here's what he thinks of P.K. Subban, as quoted by Guillaume Lefrançois in La Presse.

"C'est un bon joueur, mais il demeure un défenseur à risques. Il peut donner cinq buts, mais en permettre cinq, donc le pointage serait égal. Je le compare toujours à Brian Leetch, car il veut aussi jouer selon un style plus offensif. Il ne prend pas toujours les bonnes décisions et il joue seulement comme il le faisait dans la rue, dans son enfance."

For those who don't read the language of Molière, here's my free translation:
"He's a good player, but he's still a risky defenceman. He can give you five goals, but also allow five, so the scoring comes out even. I always compare him to Brian Leetch, because he also wants to play a more offensive style. He doesn't always take good decisions, and he plays basically the same way he did in the street, when he was a kid."

So there. But if Kovalev's assessment should prove to be correct -- as I'm sure it will -- what are the Canadiens to do now? How about a trade to... let's say Toronto. The Maple Laffs are the richest team in the league, with the bucks to blow on P.K.'s humongous contract. They badly need help on defence. And after all, Subban is a Toronto native.