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P.K. Subban gets dodgy in Part 2 of Sportsnet sit-down

We had our fun with the first part of P.K. Subban’s sit-down with Sportsnet and Eric Engels, and the second part aired on Wednesday night.

In it, Engels asks the questions you want asked of the former Montreal Canadiens star. And, in turn, P.K. dodges them like they’re bullets in “The Matrix” and he’s Neo.

Questions like:

“Why do you believe you were traded?”

“I try not to think about that too much,” said Subban. “At the end of the day, I don’t hold the cards in making those decisions.”

I mean, does anyone believe that? For a second?

Your life is twist-turned upside down and your reaction is that you try not to dwell on the motivations of the man or men that did it? That on the long plane ride back from vacation, P.K. just shrugged and said “welp, it’s a business!” and watched Captain America: Civil War again?

“Do you feel like you were fully embraced for the personality you were, by the organization?”

“I think the debate will always be on that,” said Subban, “but I try to stay away from the debates and all that.”

Well OK then.

“I’m leaving the Montreal Canadiens happy about playing there for six seasons and wearing the jersey. Playing for Geoff Molson. Playing for the organization. Playing for my teammates. It’s all good memories leaving there. I can’t comment on coaching decisions or managing decisions. That’s not on me. Whatever things are said about me, I can’t comment on those either, because I’m not saying them,” he said.

That’s, like, a DOCTOR WHO-level paradox in that last statement.

“Do you not get along with your teammates?”

“I’d have to disagree with that,” said Subban, smiling. “At the end of the day, I’d like to hope that they respect me and I respect them.”

Again, P.K. dances around, but seems to hint at, the notion that “different personalities” lead to some conflict, but in the end this can be filed under “what happens in the room stays in the room until someone writes their book several years after retirement.”

DRINK BREAK!

NHL
NHL

P.K. has his own water filler. Something to aspire towards.

“Was your personality too big for the locker room?”

P.K. wasn’t even going to address this one, going into a spiel about “at the end of the day, I’ve always been team first” and “it’s up to everybody to find what makes them work as a hockey player.”

I mean, Engels could have asked “can a rutabaga double as a French horn?” and gotten the same stock answers here. P.K. wasn’t going there.

Finally …

“The racial climate in the United States is hot. How do you feel about moving there right now?”

This was a question framed around Subban’s tweet from the other day:

So how does he feel?

“I’m excited about a new opportunity. For me, there are a lot of different things going on around the world, and all we can do is hope that one day the violence can stop,” said Subban.

As for the “politics” in the U.S.? “I can’t really comment, because I don’t live there,” he said.

Well, that’s about to change.

Taken as a whole, the interview was very much a chance for Subban to address the factors that led to his trade from Montreal, or at least his theories about them.

But he wasn’t down with that. He wanted to move on. It’s hard to blame him.

But, selfishly, we’re all left wondering why Marc Bergevin – unmentioned in his “happy Montreal memories” bit – traded Subban and why Subban believes he was traded. And, as we mentioned yesterday, why Subban’s contract was structured in a way that allowed for this trade to happen, and why both sides felt that was necessary.

(Ed. Note: Brain-fart. The NMC couldn’t kick in until the 2016 season, per the CBA.)

Kudos to Engels for asking the questions. Maybe one day we get the answers.

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.