Dave Stubbs: P.J. Stock no expert on P.K. Subban
Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban made a modest return to action on a perfect Super Bowl weekend. He was neither a commanding presence nor a step out of place, but rather one of a half-dozen blue-liners who contributed to a sweep of the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.
And there’s not a thing wrong with that.
It’s just a shame, if you’re to believe one Hockey Night in Canada panellist, that Subban is disliked by everyone on his team, a young man who is profoundly troubled by the frosty shoulder of his teammates.
Presumably, this sadsack outcast dried his tears long enough to share meals Saturday and Sunday with Brandon Prust, then watch the Super Bowl at Josh Gorges’s home on Sunday with the rest of the Canadiens.
But we’ll come back to that.
Subban broke the ice, so to speak, in his return to the Canadiens after missing training camp and the season’s first four games, having sat out during a contract dispute.
Finally signed to a two-year, $5.75-million contract on Jan. 28, the 23-year-old joined the Canadiens Wednesday in Ottawa, skated alone Thursday, practised with the full club on Friday then played both ends of a weekend doubleheader.