PK Subban Hockey Career And Contracts
PK Subban hockey career in the NHL started after the Montreal Canadiens picked him in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Subban signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 2009.
After playing 13 NHL seasons, seven with the Montreal Canadiens, three with the Predators, and three with the New Jersey Devils, Subban announced his retirement last September.
Now, he serves as a broadcast analyst for the NHL on ESPN. For the 2023 playoffs, Subban joined the crew along with Mark Messier as a studio analyst.
He shared his perception in playoff round one, game six, between his former team, the Devils, and the New York Rangers.
Keeping his current professional status aside, let's go back to the time when his playing career started:
Junior Career
Subban's junior career started with the Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League. He began playing ice hockey in his teens.
In OHL, he scored 12 points in the 2005-2006 season. He embraced himself and recorded 56 points in 68 games the next season.
At the time, the Canadiens picked him in the Entry Draft, he was participating in the OHL with the team for the third season.
Before debuting in an NHL match, the Toronto native played with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League in the 2009–2010 season.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens is the debut team for Subban to enter the NHL. Subban's 2014 contract with the Habs, worth $72 million, made him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL at the time.
On February 12, 2010, Subban played his first match with the Habs against the Philadelphia Flyers. Even though he didn't score a goal, he registered his debut NHL point with an assist.
Later, on April 30, 2010, he scored his first goal against the Penguins. The team was competing in the second-round series of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The same year, the AHL honored him with the First All-Star Team.
In his second season with the franchise in the NHL, PK scored 14 goals with 24 assists and made 38 points collectively. He was listed on the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2011.
Overall, the 34-year-old scored 63 goals and had 215 assists with the team until he was traded to Nashville in June 2016. Till then, he received the Jame Norris Memorial Trophy in 2013 and the NHL's first All-Star Team in 2023 and 2015.
The Norris Trophy is awarded to the top NHL defenseman with the finest all-around ability at the position throughout the season each year. He played seven seasons with the team until 2015–2016.
Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators had a great defenseman from the 2016–2017 season to the 2018–2019 season. They signed him with a $2 million signing bonus at the start of the year.
Subban inaugurated his journey with 10 goals and 40 points in his first season. He played 66 games. The following year, he qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild-card entry in the Western Conference.
With the team, he was chosen as the King Clancy Memorial Trophy candidate in 2018. However, ice skaters from the Canucks, Daniel Sedin, and Henrik Sedin, took the trophy home.
Subban played 63 games in the 2018–2019 season with the Predators. He scored nine goals and 22 assists, which became his final stats for the team, as he was traded to the Devils in June 2019.
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils is the final NHL franchise for Subban, for whom he played for three seasons. After joining New Jersey, he competed with his former club, the Habs, for the first time in November 2019.
The Devils won with a 4-3 score. A few days later, he faced the Predators, who celebrated the victory with a 6-4 win. Nonetheless, the Predators fans applauded him with a standing ovation.
Subban's debut season with the New Jersey Devils became the worst season for him throughout his NHL journey. He struggled, scoring just 18 points in 68 games.
The number couldn't rise more, and he settled for 22 points in 77 games played in the 2021–2022 season. Nonetheless, he received the King Clancy Memorial Trophy the same year.
Besides the NHL, he has played in some international games as well. He represented Team Canada at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Likewise, he played for the team at the 2009 World Juniors in Ottawa.