On a day when Canadiens fans were hoping for some good news in the quest to sign star defenceman P.K. Subban, the Norris Trophy-winning rearguard was talking about other things.
Subban appeared along with his father and two brothers at a sponsored event in Brossard Thursday morning but didn't have much to say about his contract negotiations just hours before his arbitration hearings were set to begin Friday.
Instead Subban talked to the crowd along with his two brothers and father about considerably lighter subject matter, including their ball hockey and video games.
Subban was about to talk to CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie following the Hyundai event but was called away for an emergency phone call just before noon, the nature of which remained undisclosed.
Hold the phones: PK Subban is on an emergency call with his agent. He's been on phone 25 minutes @CTVMontreal
— Rob Lurie (@RLurieCTV) July 31, 2014
Twitter, however, was abuzz with talk about the possibility of Subban finally signing a long-term deal today as Subban's agent Don Meehan and Habs GM Marc Bergevin were expected to continue talking turkey.
The two sides were reportedly $3 million per season apart going into the hearings, with the club offering $5.25 million per year, which many onlookers consider to be a lowball approach.
The Habs reportedly want to sign Subban to a one-year deal, which would once again leave him a restricted free agent again next season, leaving a similar arbitration saga a possibility next summer.
Here are some of the notable tweets below:
It appears the only people that don't think the Habs offer to PK Subban is a joke are the Habs themselves.
— Patrick Scherr (@PatrickScherr) July 31, 2014
Hey Montreal, if you don't want to sign Subban for 8 years, we'll do it. -every other NHL team
— Deegs (@BDeegs) July 31, 2014
Sign Subban for 8 years like that we will stop hearing about it!
— Seb (@SeBThEBaDBoY) July 31, 2014
The hype machine surrounding Subban is really gearing up. Fans are being more logical than MSM, go figure. #creatingdrama101
— Marc Dumont (@Dr_Habs) July 30, 2014