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Montreal's Terrible Judgment Exemplified by Subban's Stellar Playoff Run

The star defenceman has helped power the Predators to the Cup in Year 1 of the much-debated Subban-Weber trade.
Photo by Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When two franchise defencemen Shea Weber and PK Subban were swapped in a shocking deal between Nashville and Montreal last offseason, it was obvious for many reasons, including Weber's age and shitty contract structure, that the Canadiens were likely going to regret the move at some point in the future.

It was a long shot to think the trade would be blowing up in the team's face less than 12 months after it happened, though, but here we are.

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As the Predators advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history during Subban's inaugural season with the club, the Canadiens' front office, players, and fan base are left watching and wondering what could've been after another first-round playoff exit. While its former beloved blueliner inches closer to realizing his Stanley Cup dreams, Montreal is realizing the nightmare that this franchise-altering trade has already been lost less than a year after it happened.

The main knocks against Subban—besides former Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien not being fond of him—leading up to and after the trade were his (lack of) shutdown defensive play and his (in)ability to fit into a winning team system. After watching Subban become a dominant part of the league's deepest defensive core while shutting down three of the game's biggest stars through the first three rounds of the postseason, those criticisms of Subban's game seem not only unfounded, but laughable.

Subban's fast skating, puck-controlling, shoot-first style has meshed absolutely perfectly with head coach Peter Laviolette's system which focuses heavily on offensive production from the blueline. Being paired with an excellent defender like Mattias Ekholm for most of the season and playoffs has allowed Subban the freedom to jump into the rush often without leaving the backend exposed. As a group, Subban, Ekholm, Roman Josi, and Ryan Ellis have been in sync and on the same page both defensively and offensively. The team's defensive corps as a whole tied the San Jose Sharks for most points from the blueline in the regular season with 181, while they've continued their torrid offensive pace in the postseason with 42 points from defenceman so far, including 10 from Subban, who has been nothing short of a perfect complement to this offensively dominant Predators D-core.

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It hasn't just been the offence that Subban has bolstered, either. His play on the defensive side of the puck has been Weber-esque or better, especially in the playoffs. The former Norris Trophy winner and his partner Ekholm were tasked with shutting down three of the NHL's biggest stars in series against Chicago, St. Louis, and Anaheim, holding Jonathan Toews, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan Getzlaf to a combined three goals in 16 games. The pair has allowed only six 5-on-5 goals in 292:54 of ice time together so far in the playoffs. Subban especially showed his defensive impact in the Anaheim series, making life hell for his opponents in 1-on-1 attacking situations. On attempted zone entries against Subban, only 39 percent were carried in, while his dump-in (49.02) and break-up (11.76) percentages ranked No. 1 among Nashville blueliners during the series.

It's unknown and impossible to tell how far Subban could have carried the Canadiens (who boast a much shallower top-to-bottom roster than the Predators) had the team stuck with him for even another season. But even still, he always made more sense for the club in the future. And while the Canadiens hoped Weber would at least be the better short-term play, Subban has emphatically murdered that notion, too.

This trade has been an absolute success for Nashville already in Year 1, and for the Canadiens it's only going to get worse.