MONTREAL - Everything seems to be going well in the life of P.K. Subban. The Nashville Predators are in the top-five of the National Hockey League, Subban is having a great season -- to the point where he is perceived as a serious candidate for the Norris Trophy -- and is close with his teammates.

While some are suspicious of this, the presence of six of Subban’s teammates at the Montreal Children's Hospital is perhaps a good example.

Friday afternoon, on their day off, Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen and Nick Bonino, among others, decided to accompany Subban to cheer up children in hospital. 

"They volunteered to come and I thought it was nice of them," he said in a scrum held after the Predators training at the Bell Center on Saturday morning.

 

 

“It was nice to see (Roman) Josi playing mini-hockey with kids. I know that for the young people, and for the people who work there, it was a big deal. It's not every day that you see players on a team go to a hospital in another city. It was a very special day,” Subban added.

In Josi’s case, it seems to be second nature because he made a similar gesture last year.

“It was important for us to support him,” Josi said. “He did so many good things there and we wanted to show him our support. I feel like it made him happy.”

 

 

While accompanying Subban, Josi could see that the former Habs defender is still adored in Montreal.

“The kids were so happy to see him. But it's not surprising when you see everything he has done here for the hospital. I'm not surprised they still love him,” he explained.

During a six minute scrum, Subban reiterated his love for the city of Montreal and supporters of the Habs who, he said, supported him from the first day of his tenure with the team.

Subban also paid credit to his teammates, Predators manager David Poile and head coach Peter Laviolette.

The only time he talked about himself was when he was asked to compare the current season to his first in the Predator uniform.

Subban dominates his team with 43 points and ranks first among NHL defensemen with 15 goals—a personal career high. His defensive ratio is over-11, significantly better than the minus-8 posted last year.

“Missing 16 games last year did not help me,” Subban explained. “Despite this, I was happy with my season, the way I came back after my injury and being able to help the team during the final sprint and playoffs. This year, many players excel at all positions, and when we had to fight the fight, the players raised their level of play by one notch. “

“A good person”

Subban's departure from Montreal to Nashville did not change his character. Charisma and flamboyance are personality traits that are part of his DNA, and do not seem to bother his teammates or head coach Peter Laviolette.

"It's a pleasure to work with him," Laviolette said. “It's easy to direct him. In this respect, there have never been any problems.”

“P. K. is very popular in Montreal and in the world of hockey, and there's a reason for that,” furthered Laviolette. “When you talk to him and get to know him, he is a good person. You look at the things he does outside the rink, that's remarkable. And on the ice, he was excellent. We are talking about a rather complete person. “

Analysts at the Predators games, Hal Gill and Terry Crisp, are full of praise for Subban -- both on the ice and in the locker room.

“I loved playing with him. At first, I admit that I found him a little particular to manage. But you end up realizing that he is a good person, that he always does the right things,” Gill explained. “You never hear negative publicity about him. It's just that he puts a lot of life into everything he does. He has a very good relationship with his teammates. “

Laviolette, Gill and Crisp have no problem placing Subban among the favorites for the Norris Trophy.