P.K. Subban‘s hockey future was assured this past weekend with the news that the 6 foot defenceman will be playing for his favourite team for the next eight years. It is a contract that guarantees him $72 million dollars.
Bob Babinski, a freelance television producer and sports reporter who covered the storied Montreal Canadiens hockey team, says P.K. Subban’s deal “represents the new-age contract.”
ListenWearing #76, P.K. is one of the top-five defencemen in the league and a charismatic presence that the passionate fans in Montreal have come to love. This past season the team coalesced into real contenders during the championship Stanley Cup series and ignited a hope and passion that the city has not seen much of in this new millennium.
“the first big black superstar in National Hockey League history”
Once a star franchise, Montreal still has a magic and history that few other teams can match. Bob Babinski says, “some people would argue that P.K. Subban is the first big black superstar in National Hockey League history”. And with his new contract, there is a renewal under way that should keep the team prospering this season.
The eldest of 5 children born to Karl and Maria Subban in Toronto, ‘Pernell Karl’ began watching the game and playing it with his father at the age of 4. His immigrant parents adopted the game at different times. His mother originally from Montserrat, arrived in Hamilton, Ontario. It was not until she witnessed her son’s amazing stickhandling that she became a hockey-mom. His father’s family had moved from Jamaica, to the northern Ontario city of Sudbury. His love of hockey was almost instant.
Karl Subban, now a retired school principal, had played cricket and soccer in Jamaica, but he joined the strong French community of Sudbury in their support of the Montreal Canadien’s hockey team, despite the intense rivalry with the more local, or provincial team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Growing up in Toronto, the Subbans were like many other hockey families, with an ice rink in the backyard for daily practice and play. But where they may differ is in the support of their son’s passion. Mom, Maria would often put P.K to bed in his snow suit so he’d be ready when his father got home late, to drive down to the big ice rink at Toronto’s City Hall to play against each other. Brothers Malcolm and Jordan are also playing the game, though not in the NHL, yet.
Now after just 4 years in the National Hockey League, P.K. Subban has only played with the team he revered as a child, and after some tough negotiations, he has received the highest contract ever for the Montreal organization, one many feel he richly deserves.
At just 25, P.K. handles himself as well off the ice as on. An ugly incident during the Stanley Cup championship play-offs earlier this spring is a good example. When a disgruntled Boston Bruins fan tweeted a racist comment about Subban, one of the few black players in the league, P.K. deflected it with grace and dignity. Subban responded by clarifying the difference between one fan and the people of Boston and the Bruin’s organization, who he said, always treated himself, and his family, so well.
Following the signing, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement on the Canadiens’ website. “This agreement helps consolidate the future of our team. A key element of our group of young veterans, P.K. plays with a high level of intensity every time he steps onto the ice. Despite his young age, he carries a great deal of experience and brings contagious energy to the team. Defencemen of his level are a rare commodity in the NHL.”
Now the fans, who spent the beginning of last season, chanting P.K’s name, as he was not yet signed, are gearing up for another year of great hockey with a young and talented team, knowing one of the best, won’t be leaving soon.
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