In Montreal, P.K. Subban was one of the NHL’s best defensemen

Since 2009-2010, P.K. Subban has captured the hearts of Canadiens fans. From his very first steps in the blue-white-red uniform, the defenseman has marked the organization with his passion, talent, attitude and charisma.

Even after the trade that sent him to Nashville, a trade that favored both teams in the final, Subban was a crowd favorite. Always has been, always will be.

But people seem to forget just how dominant the Torontonian was in his time in the Metropolis. Not only did he win a Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman, but during his time in Montreal, only two defensemen maintained a better +/- differential and collected more points than he did.

They are Duncan Keith and Kris Letang, no less.

Of course, the phrase “people seem to forget how dominant he was in his time in Montreal” also applies to Kris Letang, who had some hellish seasons in Pittsburgh.

Letang, however, had one slim (big) advantage: he literally played for a dynasty. I’m not taking anything away from his accomplishments, but maintaining a plus-66 differential and collecting points galore (300) while playing ahead of Marc-André Fleury and behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is simpler, let’s put it that way.

From 2009-2010 to 2015-2016, the seasons in which Subban was a member of the CH, Keith maintained a plus-98 record and collected 330 points (!).

Subban’s plus-35 record and 278 points are far behind his two counterparts.

Very active on the Twitter platform, the former defenseman responded to Big Head Hockey‘s publication.

Love 🙌🏿 ❤️ tanger and duncs were phenomenal players to play against! https://t.co/BWNId9shqC

– P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) July 25, 2023

He says Keith and Letang were phenomenal players to play against. And the statistic published above proves his point.

Without going back to the Subban-Weber trade, for comparison’s sake, the former Canadiens captain collected 320 points and kept a plus-33 record during Subban’s time in Montreal. This trade will continue to be the talk of the town, that’s for sure.

In bursts

– Clearly.

🏒 Steve Bégin, former @CanadiensMTL, gives a testimonial on Patrice Bergeron.

A short stint with the @NHLBruins, but a memorable one with Patrice Bergeron.

Listen here with @_kevdup ▶️ https://t.co/4xvjKIcsBs pic.twitter.com/G1mEC6kIRc

– 98.5 Sports (@985Sports) July 26, 2023

– The Yankees could really use one.

– Too good.

P.S. He’s added a third…

– I don’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed.

Halfway through his second game, Lionel Messi would already be in the Top 3 scorers for CF Montreal😅#InterMiamiCF #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/Z4BXE6rn7g

– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) July 26, 2023

– She has good reason.