Re-evaluating P.K. Subban

Ed. here. It's been some time since we allowed Poor Len Canayen space for a rant/rave about the Montréal Canadiens, so...

As we say in Montréal, merci/thank you! Assiduous readers know that when I write about the Canadiens, it's usually to wax acidulous about P.K. Subban, their vastly overpaid and overrated so-called defenceman. Unlike the hexperts at the Montreal Gazette, I do not refrain from pointing out his shortcomings -- see "The truth about all-star defenceman P.K. Subban" and "What's wrong with les Canadiens?" -- but for so doing, I get called a racist.

However... as the 2014-15 NHL season has progressed, the star's shine seems to have dimmed somewhat. Even Dave Stubbs and Pat Hickey can't pretend they haven't seen stories that hit the sports pages and even front pages of the non-Montréal media today. Here they are.

P.K. Subban fined for 3rd embellishment citation

The NHL fined P.K. $3000 (real money, not beaverbucks) for his third diving/ embellishment citation of the season. The incident occurred on March 12th during the Habs' 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The NHL enacted Rule 64 to stop the tendency of certain players to act like soccer players, to wit by diving and embellishing assaults upon themselves in an attempt to draw penalties. Fines are assessed to players and head coaches on a graduated scale. A first infraction prompts a warning; the second draws a $2000 fine.

The fine rises to $3000 for a third-timer. If P.K. gets caught taking the plunge again, he's looking at $4000. And -- get this -- Montréal head coach Michel Therrien will also have to pay a $2000 penalty for the sins of the player he doesn't dare discipline.

Ex-Habs coach Tremblay slags Subban during DUI arrest

Mario Tremblay wore the bleu, blanc et rouge for several years, including four in which les Glorieux won the Stanley Cup. He coached the Habs briefly and, it must be said, not terribly successfully, and now works as a commentator and analyst for RDS. My point here is that M. Tremblay does know something about hockey and about the Canadiens.

On the air, Mario Tremblay is reasonably neutral about P.K. Subban. He's obviously read the memo that it won't do to speak ill of the media darling -- "a credit to his race" and all that -- in whom the club has invested so heavily. (C$9 million -- just over $7 million in real money -- per year for eight years).

However... when M. Tremblay was stopped by the Mascouche QC police for speeding and, possibly, DUI, he felt that speaking his mind might somehow get the gendarme to cut him some slack.

Constable Maxime Perron testified in a municipal court on Thursday that, even though M. Tremblay was chewing gum there was a smell of alcohol on his breath, so he asked the aging ex-star to take a breathalyzer test. "You can’t do that to me. I am Mario Tremblay!" the cop quoted quoted the former coach as saying. Then, "he compared me to some hockey players, [saying] that I was like 'a P.K. Subban', that I had no judgment and that I was being petty."

It would seem M. Tremblay showed pretty poor judgment himself in talking thus to an agent of the law. But... but... his judgment of P.K. Subban has the ring of truth, to my ears. In vino veritas...

Let's look at a few statistics, drawn from the Canadiens' website this (Friday) afternoon. P.K. has played in all 72 games so far this season. He's second, behind Max Pacioretty, in scoring, with 52 points -- 13 goals and 39 assists. Very good, but hang on...

Subban's a defenceman, right? Shouldn't preventing shots against his goalie be more important? Yes, but there's not much fault to find there, as P.K. is +18, the same as his partner Andrei Markov. All well and good but don't forget that he and Markov get more ice time than anyone except the goalies. And with the sensational goaltending of Carey Price -- forgive me for my expression of doubt back in November -- it's hard not to be on the plus side of the ledger.

Don't forget, also, that goals scored against your team when you're short-handed don't count in the plus/minus column. A good thing too, because Subban leads the Habs in penalty minutes. (That's not counting Brandon Prust, the team's designated fighter.) Subban's penalties include a couple for diving -- see above -- and a much larger number for plays which show... wait for it... lack of judgment.

Recognizing the need for a couple of guys who can actually be counted on to play defence, the Canadiens acquired Sergei Gonchar last fall, and the grey-beard can still get the job done. More recently they've added Jeff Petry and brought up Greg Pateryn, both competent players. So, all in all, the Habs' defence looks solid, going into the playoffs... no particular thanks to the 9-million-dollar, not-so-shining, former all-star.