29 replies to this topic

[Erik C.]

From Hockey I/O

Now that there has been a tentative agreement reached to end the NHL lockout, the biggest question Canadiens fans are asking is: When will the Habs sign P.K. Subban?

Subban, a restricted free agent, earned $875,000 last season in the final year of his entry-level deal and wasn’t re-signed by new Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin during the summer.

The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs reports that Subban will meet with his agent Don Meehan Monday at noon in Toronto and that if the defenceman isn’t signed by the time training camp starts, don’t expect to see him in Montreal.

“It’s been a very tough situation for me,” Subban told Stubbs. “I haven’t been able to engage myself in a lot of the things that our team has been involved in (during the lockout).

“That’s because as much as people may believe I’ll be back this season with the Canadiens, it’s still dependent on whether we can reach an agreement. Whether I’m positive about reaching an agreement or not, there’s always a chance it may not get to that.

“So now I’m on the outside looking in, obviously waiting for an agreement to get done.”

The rest... just like Maryanne.

[damned]

Heh, take about a deadline.

lol

[Erik C.]

Yeah, I know. Captain Obvious reporting for duty here. (And I don't mean you, Brad.)

This point has been edited by Erik C.: 07 January 2013 - 02:12 PM

[Erik C.]

The Director General of the Canadian, Marc Bergevin, has not yet had the opportunity to see the tentative agreement Sunday between the NHL and the NHLPA. But he already knows that his most pressing issue this week, will be the free agent PK Subban.

Waves on Sportsnet, where he worked during the lockout, the defender of 23 years has welcomed an agreement is finally reached. "I am very excited because I've never spent so much time without playing," said Subban.

But precisely: how long will he not play?

Wages, but also the duration of the contract that covets Subban could lead to difficult negotiations if the Habs want to stick to a short-term agreement with him. Subban has already indicated he would not be attending training camp without a contract.

"I'll meet PK [Monday] and then talk with Marc Bergevin, told La Presse agent Don Meehan. We will meet as soon as we have the authority to do so. "

From Marc-Antoine Godin for La Presse (translated from French)

[damned]

Rumor, I say again, RUMOR, has the Canadiens announcing that he has signed a 4 year 29 million dollar deal soon after the CBA comes into force.

That's a stupid amount of money if it's true.

[Shakes]

Rumor, I say again, RUMOR, has the Canadiens announcing that he has signed a 4 year 29 million dollar deal soon after the CBA comes into force.

That's a stupid amount of money if it's true.

He is not worth $7 million per year. - especially with the cap decreasing.

How can they pay him more than Price?

[Erik C.]

I'm reading $22 million over on HIO, and they're sourcing Rod Francis of TSN 690.

[Erik C.]

For now, the saga continues...

As far as P.K. Subban knows, there is no contract yet awaiting his signature.

The Canadiens restricted free-agent defenceman spoke from his Toronto condo Friday afternoon, having just received an acupuncture treatment as he continues to get ready for the Habs training camp he hopes he’ll be a part of.

Rumours were blazing in Montreal on Friday, Rod Francis of TSN Radio 690 reporting that he had information from an inside source saying that the Canadiens on Saturday would announce a four-year, $22-million contract with the popular defenceman.

Dave Stubbs of The Gazette spoke with Subban twice as the player was getting an acupuncture treatment in his Toronto condo. While much of their conversation was off the record, for background, Subban did say that he’s been told by his agent, Don Meehan, that talks with the Canadiens continue.

From Hockey I/O yesterday

[damned]

Heh, TSN says they aren't close.

[Erik C.]

Should that surprise me?

[Erik C.]

Habs need Subban’s pizzazz

From Jack Todd for the Gazette

While the Canadiens were putting their popgun offence on display, one P.K Subban was home in Toronto. Oh, you could see him in the commercials. But on the ice? Not a shadow.

Sunday, while his teammates were recovering from a bruising loss to Toronto, Subban was in T.O., taking in the Lakers game from the front row. The Lakers need all the help they can get — but the Canadiens need Subban more.

Does it matter that Subban is still unsigned? Well, for you Tomas Kaberle fans (both of you) it was great: Kaberle wasn’t all that bad. For those who hope the Canadiens will make you forget last season’s 15th-place finish with a playoff push, not so much.

What the Canadiens did not look was dangerous. Of course, they weren’t dangerous last year, either, when Subban was in the lineup. But Pernell Karl, bless him, brings another element to the ice — a charge of megaton energy and excitement that was very much lacking against the Leafs.

So what does newly minted GM Marc Bergevin do now? In this short-sprint season, 10 games without Subban could douse any playoff hopes the CH might entertain, when every game is the equivalent of two in a normal season.

Bergevin sensibly does not want to break the bank for a player who (in the organization’s view) has not quite proved himself. For reasons that have never been publicly clear, the club has always been a little down on Subban: It was that way with Pierre Gauthier, Jacques Demers and Randy Cunneyworth, it’s that way now with Bergevin and Michel Therrien, who only a short time ago was Subban’s most ferocious critic in the media.

Now, assuming that Subban signs at some point, the same guy who was ripping him on RDS is his coach, which could be part of the problem here. Technically, Subban isn’t a holdout, because he doesn’t have a contract. In truth, as a restricted free agent without other offers, the effect of his absence is the same as a holdout.

The one thing you know is that agent Donnie Meehan is not going to sell his client short. The amiable Meehan isn’t given to outrageous statements; in public, at least, he’s a quiet bulldog who will hang on until he has everything he can get — much as Donald Fehr did during the CBA negotiations.

The rest... just like Maryanne

[**LS**]

Everything I've read suggests that Bergevin is low-balling to the tune of just 3 mill over a couple of seasons.

I can't see that happening.

[Erik C.]

It's a path similar to what both Bob Gainey and Pierre Gauthier have done: give him a moderate contract like 2-3 years for a 2-3 million , THEN give him what he deserves with (GASP!) the third contract.

[damned]

The Montreal Canadiens and restricted free agent defenceman P.K. Subban appear no closer to agreeing on a new contract, and as the club continues to play games without one of their top blueliners, the possibility of the club trading Subban if they can't sign him is becoming a point of conversation.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, speaking during The Quiz on the NHL on TSN on Wednesday night, was asked if the Canadiens will eventually sign or trade their prized rearguard.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=414354

[Erik C.]

Any work achieved by both sides did not, however, have them anywhere near the cusp of agreement when the CBA was approved in the wee hours of Jan. 6.

There have been discussions between Bergevin and Meehan since that day, the new CBA offering both men clear direction, even a face-to-face meeting in Toronto the day before the Canadiens hit the ice for training camp on Jan. 13.

But we’ve been at a stalemate, the restricted free agent Subban parked on a siding awaiting something — anything — that will get him back on the ice.

In a Canadiens jersey, or perhaps that of another team.

“It’s come down to this — I want to be paid what I’m worth,” Subban told me in a lengthy talk this week.

The on-the-record portion of our conversation was about philosophies, not hard numbers of term and dollars; he pays Meehan to negotiate those details and, like both his agent and Bergevin, he wouldn’t publicly lift the veil on the fine print.

Industry comparables have been tabled, statistics of defencemen stacked on a scale as part of the equation. The Canadiens apparently are not disputing any comparables served to them, but are sticking to a short-term deal.

There are important intangibles to be considered, too, Subban’s popularity with fans and his marketing value to the club strong among them.

A veteran of 160 regular-season and 21 playoff games, he is one of his team’s elite defencemen who has been used in every situation; at 24:18 per game average, he led all Canadiens rearguards in ice-time last season.

Not Subban nor Meehan nor Bergevin will confirm the dollars or term either side is offering. But the website habseyesontheprize.com, a lucid voice that offers exhaustive, balanced analysis of the Subban case, lists no fewer than six dozen NHL defencemen of less impact (in their view) who annually earn more than $3 million.

For now, Subban remains at home in Toronto, working out and skating, hoping and wondering.

“I don’t even know what to think any more,” he said. “At this point, you have to remain optimistic (and realize) it is a business, and a lot of things can happen.

“I hope (a trade) is not the case. I want to play for the Canadiens. I want to help the team. With the young players we have in the organization right now, we still have a great opportunity to win.

“But for my style of game and for what I do for the team, the amount of minutes I play and for what I bring to the table, I have to be fairly compensated.”

From Dave Stubbs for the Gazette

I bolded the main point since Damned brought up the trade possibility via Bob McKenzie.

[damned]

I'm really surprised, if it's true, that trading him is even an option.

[Chris TMC]

Im still kinda surprised there has been no offer sheet. It would settle everything- either the Habs would match and that would be that or he would be elsewhere and the Habs woulod be compensated. either way this would be done.

[damned]

Im still kinda surprised there has been no offer sheet. It would settle everything- either the Habs would match and that would be that or he would be elsewhere and the Habs woulod be compensated. either way this would be done.

Que the Flyers?

lol

[Erik C.]

Que the Flyers?

lol

So they can force a cap hit of $7 million (or more) for him? I'd tell Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren to screw themselves with their own money then if I were Geoff Molson and Marc Bergevin. I don't see them budging from the bridge contract.

[damned]

The Montreal Canadiens and defenceman P.K. Subban's management team, Newport Sports Management Inc., will take part in a critical face-to-face meeting Friday to discuss a new contract.

It is believed that Subban wants a long-term deal with the starting point for negotiations being in the vicinity of forward Jamie Benn's new contract with the Dallas Stars, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.

http://www.sportsnet...t_negotiations/