Wednesday, September 16, 2015

P.K. Subban: Credit where credit is due

Poor Len Canayen here, lean and mean after a summer in hibernation, awaiting the start of hockey season. But not so mean as to ignore today's news from the Holy City of Hockey.

The Montreal Children's Hospital has received a boost from one of les Glorieux, namely P.K. Subban, sometime all-star defenceman and winner of the Norris Trophy. The hospital has named its atrium in his honour, after he (or more accurately, his foundation) gave the health-care facility C$10,000,000. The hospital described the gift as "the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history".

Mr. Subban, who has played for the Montréal Canadiens since 2009, told the large crowd present for the presentation "Montréal has become my second home. I hope to remain here, here in Montréal, here in Québec, for a very, very long time."

10 million Canadian bucks (about 7.5 million in real money) is a huge gift, even for someone who makes nearly that much -- give or take a mil -- every year. Who amongst us could afford to give more than a year's salary to a cause, no matter how worthy?

Regular readers will know that I (Poor Len) am no fan of Mr.Subban, but I do admire his community spirit and applaud his generosity. A big tip of le chapeau to ya, P.K.!

And I will not be so churlish as to suggest that the timing of the donation has anything to do with the decision which Canadiens' management has to make within the next couple of weeks regarding the captaincy of the team. Leadership skills on and off the ice are not that closely related, and who gets to wear the "C" should not be decided through a popularity contest.

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