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On the big stage, Subban can’t escape ‘The Trade’

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The Predators have sparked a hockey culture in Nashville, and Pierre McGuire says their stars can keep the team among hockey's best.

PITTSBURGH -- Three hundred and thirty-three days.

That’s how long it’s been since the Canadiens and Predators pulled off the seismic P.K. Subban-for-Shea Weber trade.

The deal was made on June 29, 2016. Today is May 28, 2017.

Three hundred and thirty-three days.

You’d think, then, given all that’s transpired in between, Subban would have plenty of topics to discuss on Sunday for Stanley Cup Final media day. He could talk about the first Cup Final in Preds franchise history, for example. Or maybe his role on what’s become the league’s best blueline. Perhaps some thoughts on Nashville’s emergence as a hockey market.

Nah. Because people still wanted to talk about The Trade.

So P.K. obliged.

“When David [Poile, Nashville’s GM] made that trade, whether we wanted to say it or not, a lot of people touted it to be a boost that was going to put us over the top,” Subban said, replying to the first of many questions about the now famous deal. “I didn’t really see it that way, but it seems that for our team, we just gelled at the right time and we’ve been clicking down the stretch.

“I guess you could say I’m definitely happier. Just to come in and do my job every day, whether that’s to play 32 minutes or play 15. I’m just happy to do whatever it takes to win.”

To be fair, it’s not like talking about The Trade rehashes old stuff. Quite the opposite, what with new storylines emerging on a weekly basis. The latest? Well, a question was asked today if Subban would bring the Cup back to Montreal, should he win it. Which came on the heels of the narrative that, in just one year, P.K. and the Preds got to where P.K. and the Habs couldn’t over the previous seven.

So, back to The Trade.

“One of the toughest things for me to think about was coming into a locker room that [Weber had] been in for 12 years, and figure out how I was going to fit in,” Subban said. “Because he had such a great presence, and such a great career in Nashville. I’m sure when he had to go to Montreal, he had to do similar things as well.

“When I got traded, I said it. Now, I don’t know if I want to look back, but I said I felt like I could win a Stanley Cup with this hockey club. I’m sure [Weber] felt the same way too when he was here.”

Winning the Cup was what Poile envisioned after making the deal. He recalled his first meeting with Subban and how, early into it, the two squared away any issues that might arise from Subban’s off-ice interests -- his charity work, his foundation, his growing media presence, etc. etc.

Poile:

The whole idea was to get on the same page. Just the first meeting we had, like, ‘What are your goals?’

He said, ‘To win the Stanley Cup.’

I said, ‘That’s what our goals are, too.’

If we can get that straightened away in terms of your desires to be the best hockey player you can be, and we can both work towards winning the Stanley Cup together, we’ve got mostly everything covered. The other parts of your life, what you do off the ice, we would like to be there to support you.

I think the most important thing is that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing so there’s no surprising and, to repeat again, we can support you.

I don’t want to say it was as simple as that, but I think it was as simple as that.

Finally, everyone knows you can’t talk about The Trade without asking The Question.

And so it was posed to Subban. You’re in the Cup Final. The Habs were bounced in Round 1.

Who won it?

“What Shea brings and what I bring -- maybe we have some similarities, but we have some differences as well,” Subban explained. “As far as who wins the trade, I think that both teams are different and were looking for something different.

“I don’t think I can really debate who won the trade. I’ll allow you guys to do that, you guys got all the stats and the numbers and statistics. I’m just focused on our team right now.”

And with that, Subban was done talking about The Trade.

For today, anyway.