Armed with a new contract after lengthy negotiations with the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman P.K. Subban is now looking forward to his future with the franchise.
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Subban, who had a long drawn-out contract negotiating process with Montreal, is ready to put it behind him and focus on building on the Canadiens' trip to the Eastern Conference Final last season.
"At this point in time, I think everybody just needs to look at the fact that the deal's done, I'm here for a long time," Subban told the Canadiens website Tuesday. "It doesn't matter how the process happened. ... I understand that when it's me it's a little bit more magnified; that's OK."
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The Canadiens and Subban had an arbitration hearing on Aug. 1, but rather than waiting for the decision, the two sides worked out an eight-year pact reportedly worth $72 million the following day. Subban wasn't happy with the criticism that some pundits heaped on the Canadiens.
"I think it was a little bit unsettling to hear some of the things that were said about management and [general manager Marc Bergevin] during the process," Subban said, speaking at coach Michel Therrien's golf event. "I understand, but it was still disturbing for me. ... I hope people understand that it was a very healthy process."
Bergevin also touched on the negotiations and said that arbitration was un-avoidable.
"If you can avoid [arbitration], you avoid it," Bergevin said. "But I think both sides did it with a lot of class. ... At the end of the day the result is there: We have P.K. here for a minimum of eight years."
Subban, 25, was drafted in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft by the Canadiens and said the fans should be "very happy" with the work of Bergevin.
Subban led the Canadiens with 43 assists in the regular season and was second on the team with 53 points while adding 10 goals as Montreal went 46-28-8 (100 points) and finished third in the Atlantic Division.
Subban led Montreal with nine assists and 14 points while adding five tallies in the playoffs as the team defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins before falling to the New York Rangers.
With his contract issues taken care of, Subban is now focused on his main goal of leading the Canadiens to the 25th Stanley Cup in franchise history.
"For me, my goal, like I said when I first started playing here in Montreal, and was drafted, is to win a Stanley Cup," said Subban, whose first full season was 2010-11. "That's my goal. I know that we haven't attained that yet, but it's good to know that I have at least eight years to try and make that happen."
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