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.

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.

What's wrong with les Canadiens?

Poor Len here. I wanted to write this piece Sunday night, following the Montréal Canadiens drubbing by the Calgary Flames [Calgary?! Ed.] but Ed. restrained me. After last night's débâcle -- shut out 5-0 by Chicago -- I can restrain myself no longer. [Have at it, then. Ed.]

The Habs got off to a great start this season. Going into Sunday's game they were 8-2-1, good for 17 points and first place in the NHL Eastern Conference. Today they still have 17 points, and are tied for first with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, both of whom have games in hand. What happened?

Back in October, I was asked by my kids -- unaccountably they root for the Toronto Maple Laffs -- why I wasn't gloating. My response was that if I did so, I'd probably wake up and find it was all a dream -- not real. And so it was. This month, reality has set in. The reality is that this year's "Glorieux" are a mediocre team with a bad defence and terrible special units. For the first ten games they had an incredible run of luck, which has now come to an end.

What's wrong with Canada's team? I will tell you. It's these guys.

Let's start with Carey Price (#31), the Habs' ace goaltender and unofficial captain. I love him to bits but must acknowledge (as he should) that he's not superhuman. Although he's stolen more than his share of games with stand-up and stand-out performances, he still needs help. That means a reliable defensive corps, which is what the Canadiens had last year, not this year.

Over the summer, Habs management made some changes, under huge pressure from the fans, the owners and the Montréal press, to pay whatever was necessary to sign P.K. Subban (#76) to a long-term contract. Result? An 8-year deal at an average C$9 million a  year (almost $8 million in real money).

Is Subban -- former Norris Trophy winner and Olympic gold medalist and a credit to his race -- earning his exorbitant keep? In a word, NO.

Let me quote from an e-mail sent (with bcc to me) by Walt's Agent 3 to long-time Montreal Gazette hockey writer Pat Hickey, one of the chief cheerleaders for P.K.

Your brief report on last night's "game" -- quotes deliberate -- didn't mention the Habs' star defenceman. He was lucky to be only -3 for the night, since he happened to be on the ice when both Montreal goals were scored, and Calgary didn't score on his needless penalty.

I  note for 12 games this season his +/- is 0. He leads the team in only one stat -- penalty minutes.
Don't you think it's about time you sports scribes got over the PC factor that seems to preclude any discussion about whether PK is worth the enormous sum he's being paid?

Looking now at the team stats as of today,  Subban's +/- is now -3, and his PIM total is now up to 22, thanks to another bad penalty last night, which negated a Montréal power play just when they desperately needed a goal to get back in the game. 

I can think of three ex-Habs who must be laughing at Montréal GM Marc Bergevin. One is Josh Gorges, a solid, stay-at-home defenceman who Monsieur B traded to Buffalo rather than pay him half of what Subban is getting. 

Then there's Francis Bouillon, another dependable (if aging) blue-liner who didn't get a renewal contract at all. And there's Doug "Swede" Murray, a tough but less-than-mobile rearguard who was also dumped because, hey, who needs a solid defence when you've got P.K.'s speed and cannonading slap shot going for you? 

If only... So far this year, Subban has 3 goals, behind Plekanec, Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. By my arithmetic he's on track for a 50-point season which would be very good, but what the Habs really need is not more goal production but more goal prevention!

Coach Michel Therrien has been juggling his defence pairings, with lamentable lack of success. The problem is that nobody can (or wants to) play with Subban, of for no reason other than his unpredictability. You can't count on him to be in the right position at the right time. He could be behind the opposing team's goal line... or in the penalty box.

I'm sure I'm not the first to say "I told ya so!" Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock has doubtless said so many times, in private at least. He coached Canada's 2012 Olympic team, to which Subban was named, in spite of  his huge "risk factor", for reasons of political correctness. 

Babcock let him ride the pines for all but a few shifts of Canada's least challenging preliminary bout against Austria. So of course he (Babcock) was labelled a racist. Although he's never said so publicly, the truth is that Team Canada's coach simply wanted a player he could count on. Not Subban.