On the Montreal Canadiens …
Eric Engels of Sportsnet: GM Marc Bergevin gives head coach Michel Therrien gets a vote of confidence. Bergevin said his intention if to keep his core together, though it wasn’t that convincing.
“Wayne Gretzky was traded,” reminded Bergevin. “Am I trying to move P.K. Subban? No. Am I trying to move Carey Price? No. Am I trying to move Max Pacioretty? No. Am I trying to make this team better? Yes. To move any of these guys and to move P.K. it would have to be something special, and as a hockey manager I have to look at all my options. Is that a reality? Probably not.
“But if I don’t look at all my options, I’m not doing my job as a general manager.”
Bergevin said he’ll be in on free agency, though he’ll need to move out some salary to do so since they have about $65 million committed to 19 players. They have $13 million tied up in centers Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller and David Desharnais. Defenseman Alexei Emelin ($4.1 million) had some trade interest in February.
“Every team in the league needs scoring,” said Bergevin. “There’s not one general manager in the NHL who’s going to tell you, ‘You know what? I have too much scoring.’ Scoring is a premium in this league, and obviously guys that are able to score at a high level are very, very seldom available if ever.”
Arpon Basu of NHL.com: P.K. Subban’s no-movement clause kicks in July 1st.
“Sometimes I do wish more of the attention could be on our team and not on myself, but I can’t help it,” Subban said. “I believe in this business you have to have thick skin. I have that thick skin for my teammates.”
PK Subban when asked about the possibility of him being traded before his no-movement clause kicks in.
“Regardless of the situation this team’s in I will always be attached to the city of Montreal and always want to play here,” Subban said when asked about the possibility of being traded. “There’s not a day that has ever gone by that I ever regret putting on this jersey or stepping into the province of Quebec every time I drive down the highway for training camp.
“I love everything about this city, but at the end of the day that’s the business part of it. I keep my fingers crossed that I’m here for as long as the team, the organization and the city want me to be here. I embrace everything about this city. I love it. But all I can do is go play the game, put a smile on my face and have fun.”