NHL Rumors: Flyers have 'chatted' with Canadiens about P.K. Subban
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| Subban would look awfully nice on your blue line, don't you think Philly? (Getty Images) |
The Philadelphia Flyers pretty clearly are looking for help on defense, hence their swing and a miss at trying to get Shea Weber via an offer sheet from the Predators.
Now they appear to have targeted P.K. Subban of the Canadiens.
Thanks to Google translate, here is a somewhat rough version in English of a report from Bertrand Raymond of the Francophone sports outlet RDS in Canada.
Presumably, the Flyers took the lead in trying to inquire about the status of the Canadiens Subban. Is it available in the event that the offer is interesting enough to shake Staff Montreal? Who knows how things happened between the two teams? Certainly they have chatted.
During the interview between Bergevin and his counterpart Paul Holmgren, one of the names mentioned was obviously the young sensation Sean Couturier, the first round pick of the Flyers two years ago, which has shown great things after winning one position 18. It is said that one who most insisted that the name be removed from the Couturier discussion coach Peter Laviolette who sees in his soup. This has not been a problem since Couturier believes that is closely linked to the future of the Flyers.
Like I said, a rough translation, not quite sure what "sees in his soup" would mean but you get the point.
Frankly, it makes a ton of sense if you're the Flyers. They need help on the blue line and going after Subban would seem to be a logical next step after going for Weber. Like Weber was, Subban is a restricted free agent and thus far he has not reached a deal to re-sign with the Canadiens. That has left him sitting, tantalizingly out there, for other teams to think about.
It's surprising it took this long for anything to even come out. It was a pretty natural move it seemed for the Flyers after the Weber miss.
We can't really be sure of the extent to which conversations have taken place, if any. But the Flyers would be silly to not at least explore the possibilities of getting Subban. However you have to imagine it would take a lot for the Habs to let him go. He is the cornerstone around their blue line and is one of their building blocks at just 23 years of age.
For their part, the Canadiens have denied any talks have taken place, pretty much the standard company line. That's not to say I immediately don't believe the Habs, but just that I wouldn't expect them to say anything else.
The Flyers could obviously go the offer sheet route, too, but Montreal would likely match, unless the Flyers grossly overpay. At that point, it becomes a bigger risk than maybe the Flyers would want to take.
Subban certainly has a bright future. He, like many Canadiens, suffered a little step back in production last season. His goal total dropped from 14 in 2010-11 to seven, but he did have five more assists (29 total in 2011-12). He has a big future of being a two-way defenseman.
With all that said and how much the Flyers likely covet Subban -- and rightfully so -- I would be floored if anything were to happen. I don't see a situation where the Canadiens let Subban go. It is interesting fodder for discussion, though.
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