When P.K. Subban signed his eight-year, $72 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens, it’s easy to forget his contract was nearly settled by an arbitrator.
While Subban and Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin were unable to get a deal done initially and went through the full process of arbitration, according to Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette, it was Habs owner Geoff Molson who made sure the court’s decision would never be heard.
“A highly place source has confirmed our theory that it was indeed Molson who overruled GM Marc Bergevin, when it appeared that the club might be saddled with a single-year arbitration contract and a disgruntled star. It was Molson’s call to sign P.K. long-term and it was exactly right.”
Money is and has never been an issue for the Canadiens, so Molson stepping up and getting a deal done worth $9 million per year against the cap isn’t a big deal. Bergevin holding a hard line with Subban to the point where the Habs star may have become disgruntled about not being able to sign long-term is perhaps the most surprising aspect of this.
That said, Molson may wind up being hailed as a hero after all this. Fans in Montreal were eager to have Subban stay in the city and to not potentially go through the agonizing drama of seeing him go to free agency in two years and potentially end up with a rival team.
Call it whatever you want, but at the very least that’s smart business by the owner.