Gazette's Jack Todd on the "Subban–Habs fault line"

Regular readers of WWW know that our sometime contributor, Poor Len Canayen (not pictured here), is a die-hard fan of the Montréal Canadiens, aka "the Habs". Poor Len is also mighty down on (not "down with") the Habs alleged defenceman, P.K. Subban. See "Is Habs' coach Therrien to blame for blaming P.K. Subban?", WWW 18/2/16. Spoiler alert: the answer is NO!

There's hardly a hockey fan or sports jock anywhere in Canada who hasn't taken sides on Michel Therrien's public shaming of Subban following either an accident or a truly bone-headed play in the dying minutes of Friday night's game against Colorado.

Opinion on the speak-your-mouth shows and in comments sections of the online sports pages and blogs has been divided, but leaning towards P.K.and against the coach. Demands for M Therrien's head outweigh those for the head of He Who Must Not Be Criticized. Sparing no expense to ascertain the true state of play in the Rome of ice hockey, Walt made the trek to Montréal to be present, along with Poor Len and a trusted Agent, at Monday night's game against Nashville.

We counted sweaters at the St-Hubert Windsor and Centre Bell Centre before and during the game to see which numbers fans were wearing on their backs, and Subban's number 76 predominated, by a long shot. Captain Max Pacioretty's 67 was a distant second. Also spotted were numbers 11, 13, 23, 29, 31 and 79. (True fans will know that two of those numbers have been retired, as well as who wore or is wearing the other four.) Which proves, I guess, that P.K. Subban is a fan favourite. But we already knew that. That's why Canadiens" owner insisted (over the objections of GM Marc Bergevin and Coach Therrien) on signing the sometime all-star to an 8-year contract at a salary almost as big as his ego. Good for business, eh!

The problem is which is more important, the hockey club or the Subban fan club. The sportswriters for the Montreal Gazette have been accused of being hopeless "homers" -- cheerleaders for the local team -- but that's normal, isn't it? It doesn't do for the meeja to be crying stinking fish in their own backyards. But Poor Len suggests that at least one member of the Gazoo crew is actually moonlighting as a PR agent for Mr Subban, turning a blind eye to mounting evidence of his inadequacies as a defenceman and disruptive behaviour in the dressing room and on the ice.

Of which writer do we speak? Not Jack Todd, author of a "special to the Gazette" piece which appeared on Sunday, headed "Therrien's rant reveals Subban–Habs fault line", which I commend to all true fans of la Sainte Flannelle.

Mr Todd has rather more respect for P.K. Subban's abilities than does Poor Len. [That's not saying much. Ed.] But he, alone amongst the writers whose thoughts the Gazoo casts before us, pinpoints with great accuracy the real problem of which the instant kerfuffle is only a symptom. Quote: With Subban and the Canadiens, the trouble goes beyond the coaching staff. The organization and the star defenceman have always been, if not at loggerheads, then at right angles to each other. Even as he has become the most charismatic skater to wear the CH since Guy Lafleur, P.K. and the Habs have come to inhabit different worlds. There’s Planet P.K. and Planet CH and it’s rare that the two meet, from Subban’s independent charitable activities to the team’s selection of its captain.

Exactly! So Poor Len is right to ask whether next year's edition of the Habs is to be Team Canadien or Team Subban? Is one man more important than the other 19? Can Subban win the Stanley Cup single-handed? Such questions about Subban's future with the Habs and/or the Habs' future with Subban must be answered sometime between now and July 1st, when the no-trade clause in HWMNBC's contract kicks in. Poor Len thinks the team must come first. Will the Molsons and the Molson Minions agree? Stay tuned!

Is Habs' coach Therrien to blame for blaming P.K. Subban?

Poor Len Canayen here, asking the question: Is alleged all-star defenceman P.K. Subban the cause of the Montréal Canadiens problems?

The skinny: The Canadiens lost last night's game against the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-2. The game-winning goal was scored by old pro Jerome Iginla after a typical P.K. Subban turnover in the Avalanche zone. With about three minutes left, the all-star showboat tried to go around Colorado’s Mikhail Grigorenko, but was poke-checked and fell to the ice. Grigorenko started a three-man rush the other way that led to Iginla’s game-winner.

After the game, Habs' coach Michel Therrien met the meeja, as usual, and, according to Canadian Press, blamed the loss on "an individual mistake". Asked to elaborate, he said, without naming the induhvidual (seen here wearing the goat horns), "We believe that...he could have made a better decision at the blue line. He put himself in a tough position. We play as a team. When we don’t we could be in trouble and this is what happened." So who he meant was pretty clear, eh.

The headline on Bill Beacon's CP story, as it appeared in the Toronto Star: "Canadiens coach Michel Therrien under fire after pinning latest loss on P.K. Subban". In other words, the heat is on Therrien for pointing the finger at He Who Must Not Be Criticized.

Headline in Pat Hickey's column in today's Montreal Gazette: "In the Habs' Room: Therrien blames Subban for loss to Avalanche". In spite of being part of the Gazoo's team of cheerleaders (Hello, Dave Stubbs!), Mr. Hickey knows his hockey, and is usually unafraid to call it as he sees it. Here's what he wrote: "Coach Michel Therrien didn’t hesitate to point a finger at defenceman P.K. Subban after the Canadiens lost a 3-2 decision to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night. 'We played a solid game and it’s disappointing that we lost because of an individual mistake,' said Therrien. The coach didn’t name any names but it was obvious he was talking about his star defenceman, who lost the puck with a little more than two minutes to play in regulation."

Mr. Hickey goes on to give Subban's side of the story -- "I crossed over and lost an edge" -- without taking sides. But the CP story says "On social media, many blamed for Subban for making a selfish play, but just as many defended the team’s scoring leader and top offensive weapon, saying the Canadiens need wins for any hope of making the playoffs and it is up to the club’s best players to try to make it happen."

Among those who think Subban is part of the problem rather than part of the solution is the Habs fan who sent us a Bcc of an e-mail written to Pat Hickey on the 16th -- the day before yesterday's loss. Here's what he wrote:

Saw your piece today quoting (as usual) P.K. Subban, “We didn’t show up” etc. Frankly, I’m tired of the Gazette always writing about Subban, as if there’s no-one else but him (and the absent Carey Price). It’s not you so much as your colleague, Stubbsy, who never gets tired of leading the cheers for P.K. even when he’s obviously a large part of “we”, i.e. part of the problem.

Yesterday the National Post had an article by one of your colleagues...about the problems in the dressing room, including friction between Subban and Pacioretty. I have said before (including previous e-mails to you and Stubbsy) that Subban is more of a liability to the team than an asset. I know you guys will disagree, but it seems to me the question should at least be open for debate. Perhaps moving Subban – if they can find anyone willing to take on a risky (alleged) defenceman at an outrageous salary – would be a step towards a solution.

That's pretty much what I've been saying for the last two years! See (for example) "Memo from Poor Len Canayen to Marc Bergevin" (WWW 13/5/15) and "Subban booed at Bell Centre as Canadiens lose another one" (WWW 27/1/16). I'm glad to see that Subban's deficiencies are at last part of the conversation.

P.K. can't be trusted on the P.K.!

The first "P.K." stands for Pernell Karl Subban, Norris Trophy-winning defenceman (?) and resident hotdog with the Montréal Canadiens. The second "P.K." stands for "Penalty Kill", which is what you have to do when a member of your team is sitting in the sin bin. That's when you want a defenceman who can actually play defence. Which (as we pointed out last week) is what the first P.K. can't do.

Sadly, P.K. can't be trusted on the Power Play [Just skip the initials. Ed.] either. We learned that this afternoon, when the Canadiens (a.k.a. the Kids from Montréal, pictured) hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning (a.k.a. the Bolts -- much better name for a hockey team) au Centre Bell in Canada's most exciting city.

It wasn't much of a game for the first period. Both teams seemed intent on a bit of a siesta. With no score several minutes into the second stanza [Sounding like a sports writer, Len! Ed.] it seemed as if the first goal would be the winner. Then TB took a penalty and the Habs went on the (occasionally) deadly power play. What happened then was terrible to behold.

On the power play, Subban and whoever's stuck with him on defence are supposed to play on the points, meaning just inside either end of the opposition's blue line. Even with the man advantage, the two defencemen may still have to make a defensive play -- for instance, stopping the opposition from clearing the puck over the blue line and out of their zone. P.K. does that about, errr, half the time.

On this occasion, as a result of being in deep rather than close to the blue line, Subban saw the puck go by him, with two TB players chasing it, and only his defence partner skating furiously backward. The defensive play, one on two, is for the defenceman to take the opposition player closest to him and let the goalie -- the estimable Carey Price -- face the other one. It would have worked this time too had P.K. not decided to stick his stick in between the TB player and Price, to stop the shot (see?) as if Price couldn't do so on his own.

Sadly, the shot hit P.K.'s stick right on the tape and caromed past Price's outstretched hand. Advantage Tampa Bay! Goat horns to Subban!

Today's question: Why is P.K. Subban immune from criticism when, as happens too often, he makes a mistake and then compounds it trying to recover? Could it be because he's, errr, black -- one of the few black players in the NHL and the only one ever to play for Montréal.

Yeah, could be. Whatever the reason, only the play-by-play commentators on RDS (the French-language channel) mentioned Subban's habit of making decisions that cause coaches to tear their hair out. That he scored an own goal was not talked about at all on the CBC telecast. The sportscast during the CTV evening news showed the Montréal goal which tied the game, and Tampa Bay's overtime game-winner. But the first goal, deflected by P.K. into his own net? Not shown. Nothing. Rien.

In fact, Subban's sub-par performances have been quietly overlooked ever since he was named to Canada's Olympic hockey team in spite of his reputation for being defensively "risky". If anyone has noticed that Habs coach Michel Therrien never plays P.K. on the P.K. -- and how could his absence not have been noticed -- they keep silent about it.

Eight defencemen have been chosen for the Canadian Olympic team. But coach Mike Babcock doesn't have to play or even dress all eight. Canadians who want their team to win should hope that political correctness doesn't force Babcock to trust P.K. to defend against some of the best players in the rest of the world.

Memo to Marc Bergevin: It's time to trade Subban!

Memo from Poor Len Canayen to Marc Bergevin:
As our readers know, the proprietor of this blog and I are big fans of your Montréal Canadiens, a.k.a. Les Glorieux. We are disappointed in the extreme that for the week last past week they have been anything but.

Three straight losses! That's unacceptable! Before the team falls out of what seemed to be a guaranteed playoff spot, something must be done! Here's our analysis and recommendation.

Goaltending: You've got two Olympians, both of whom were playing very well until this month. Wednesday night Petr Budaj let in zero goals. Unfortunately Carey Price let in five. (Therrien left him in the game one goal too long.) Price has every reason to feel demoralized. To use the old cliché, he should sue his defence for non-support.

Offence: The current edition of les Canadiens is never going to score a lot of goals. You should be able to count on 2, or maybe 3 on a good night. 5-spots are rare. But Wednesday night and last night they managed only one (1). You've got a couple of guys who aren't contributing. Here's a short list:
Rene Bourque -- Shows signs of trying hard but can't find the back of the net. We hear you've already shopped him around, with no takers. Send him to Hamilton and give someone else a chance.
Daniel Brière -- Past his sell-by date. Could he be traded?
Lars Eller -- We like Eller a lot and wouldn't like to see him gone. Perhaps the solution is to reunite the "EGG" line, once (as we hope) Galchenyuk's injured hand heals.
Michael Bournival -- Back to Hamilton for more experience, especially when playing without the puck.

Defence: What defence? You'd think out of eight or nine guys you could get two reliable pairs. Our comments:
Andrei Markov -- Never a speedster, now getting old and obviously his bunged-up knee will never be the same. But the team wouldn't be where it is now without him. Forgive him for the game against Pittsburgh. He just can't keep up, 25 minutes a game, any more.
Alexei Emelin -- Is a puzzlement. He bangs and crashes with the best of them, but doesn't seem to be reading the plays very well. Leave him with Markov and you've got one good (if not exceptional) pair.
Josh Gorges -- Gorgeous Gorges, a capable stay-at-home defenceman, great shot-blocker. And a real team leader. He too is doing his best and will be OK, but who to play with him?
Rafael Diaz -- Why did he have to watch from the press box on Wednesday and Friday? He hasn't been any worse than the other defencelessmen. He's competent enough, just lacks the toughness to really intimidate opposing forwards.

So -- leaving aside last year's Norris trophy winner -- there's your top four. Now let's look at:
Francis Bouillon -- Another member of the over-the-hill gang, but still OK as long as he doesn't have to play two games in two nights. Could play with Gorges if needed.
Douglas Murray -- Has improved and has the toughness Diaz and others lack, but soooo slow. Makes the much-missed (by us) Hal Gill look like a speedster. We couldn't believe Therrien paired him with Subban last night. They probably only saw each other in the dressing room.
Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi -- Two more not ready for the NHL.

Which brings us to:
Pernell Karl Subban -- Marc, it's time to think the unthinkable and speak the unspeakable. The team would be better off trading Subban for an impact forward!

It's time to stop making excuses for P.K. He's not a kid any more, and he doesn't learn from his many mistakes. First, he needs to learn how to skate. Maybe he's top-heavy, or maybe he has equipment problems, but he seems to keep falling down. And when he does a tight turn, the knuckles of his free hand drag on the ice! Secondly, he needs to learn to play defence. His job should be not to score goals -- although that's appreciated -- but to keep guys like Sid the Kid from scoring goals! Thirdly, he needs to stop being a "heat score". He's very visible [a vizmin! Ed.] and the referees don't like him.

Speaking of "don't like him", you've got to stop glossing over the fact that Subban is disliked not just by fans of every other team, but by some of his own teammates. The Russians (Markov and Emelin) won't play with him. Erik Cole went to Dallas in a "me-or-him" decision. And stories of dressing room dissension persist. Subban is a puck hog, a hot dog, a distraction and a divisive force in the room. Get rid of him!

"But where?", we hear you ask, Marc. Why, Toronto, of course! Subban is a Toronto boy, the Leafs' defence is woeful, and P.K. can be a hero to the promoters of diversity. And... get this... Toronto has the impact forward that Montréal needs -- James van Riemsdyk. What a deal that would be! ... Just our two cents ...

À lire: "Canadien: d'autres remaniements en défense"