After an illustrious career, P.K. subban Will be honored on the same ice where he made himself a household name in Montreal and among Canadian fans everywhere.
The now retired defenseman is not only known for his dedication HockeyFor the storied club and its fans, but also for the city and its people.
Global Montreal Hockey Analyst brian wilde Tributes at the Bell Center ahead of Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators weighed in on Subban’s return to his beloved Montreal. The hockey star announced last year that he would retire after 13 NHL Seasons with the Canadiens, Predators and New Jersey Devils.
According to Wilde, the 33-year-old’s legacy is a mix of being a talented, exciting and dramatic player. Subban not only came up for his team but also always gave great interviews.
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“He always came through clutch. I remember Boston Bruins games where he said that famous quote, ‘I can’t wait to go to Boston and hear all those fans and how excited they are and then Take them away from them.’ That was my favorite quote,” Wilde said.
“So when you look at that on-ice performance, you have a very high legacy there.”
Subban’s legacy extends well beyond the Bell Center.
Apart from his witty talk and tremendous talent, he is also known for his philanthropic work going on in the city. In 2015, he pledged to raise $10 million for the Montreal Children’s Hospital and his fundraising efforts continued in the years following his business.
“So it was an obviously huge gesture, which said a lot about (what) this legacy was going to be,” Wilde said.
There was a lot of fanfare around the gesture, but Wilde says that the hockey player spent his free time in the hospital and with younger patients when he had a day off. Subban’s frequent tours were often under the radar and away from the cameras.
“He just went because his heart demanded of him and children go to the moon with enthusiasm.”
During his time on the ice, Subban was a talented black hockey player in a very white game. Wilde notes that “we can never understand what it’s like to be someone of color different from us because we live in a very privileged world as white people.
Wilde said, “And he always had to deal with it in the beginning, you know, people sort of understood what it was all about because there was no one else like him.” “And so we live in a community that’s a little unusual sometimes, isn’t it?
“And maybe sometimes we get it in terms of French versus English in our community, whether you feel in the minority or the majority. So PK kind of fought to be accepted by more and more people in the beginning, But not everyone, because not everyone is perfect in that way.
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After he was drafted in 2007, fans watched Subban rise to stardom. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2013 and helped the Canadiens become contenders in the league’s Eastern Conference.
Wilde said, “There’s also a slight downside to that legacy, in terms of the business and how management talked about his departure, which was very sad.”
But when Subban returned the following year to play against his old team for the first time, tears rolled down his cheeks as he stood at Bell Center applauding. There were chants of “PK, PK” from the crowd, many wearing the old 76 jersey with his name on it.
He went on to play with the Predators and Devils before hanging up his skates. Even as Subban announced his retirement from professional hockey at the end of 2022, Wilde said it was no shock that the talented player quickly joined the ESPN team as a hockey analyst.
No one was surprised by this, he said.
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When asked if he could describe Subban in one word, it came down to his character.
Wilde said, “PK is a good man, he’s a genius.” “Above all, he is a good man, and anyone who doesn’t think so doesn’t know him.”
, With files from Global’s Tim Sargent and The Canadian Press
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