PK Subban Retires. Is it too soon, or is he the NHL's Colin Kaepernick?

John Wick

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Oct 25, 2019
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At 33 he should still have lots of game left in his bag, but seems he's become more of a league pariah. He's an UFA but has had absolutely zero interest from any team. Is it his skills are now gone, or is he just a major PITA?
 

Imdrunk

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Jun 7, 2022
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He is a bottom pair guy and doesn't realize there is different rules for what level you're at on the team. He's a modern day roenick, roenick was able to tone his personality down late in his career. Pk will have a long TV career. Overall not worth the trouble.
 
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tml

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I see a big tv contract in his future. Maybe it was alreay offered and that's why he retired.
 

bemeup

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I have a feeling, being from Toronto, he was waiting to see if the Leafs would offer a minimum contract, or possibly back to Montreal. Last day before training camp opens, no offer so decided to pack it in. With his personality, he will definitely get a media job if he wants it.
 

funstick

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Jul 20, 2017
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His skills declined rapidly partly due to injuries. He could have hung on as a 6th or 7th defenseman for close to min salary, but that's not his jam. I get the sense that he is aware that he is done as a player. I won't be surprised if he ends up doing something interesting and/or lucrative.
 

The Oracle

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On the slopes of Mount Parnassus, Greece
I will always remember his 10 million commitment to the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Not sure how he was regarded by his peers however. I have the sneaky suspicion that he was seen as a me first type of player.
 
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HumbleJoe

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He's already been doing work for ESPN. I'm sure that he'll sign on with them soon for $8MM+ per year. No point grinding in the league for (relative) peanuts.
 

boobtoucher

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May 25, 2021
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Josh Ho-Sang is the NHL's Kaepernick. PK had a long career and multiple chances.

I watched Ho-Sang and McDavid in the OHL. Ho-Sang was no McDavid, but he was probably 80% as good. He got buried for being uppity.
 
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Insidious Von

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There's a reason why PK's skills fell off so fast, he was still a top 3 defenseman when he was in Nashville.

The top downhill racers choose to stay virgins while going for gold. Franz (The Express) Klammer was and so was Lindsey Von when she won the Downhill Gold Medal at Whistler. Poor sweet PK, he literally got fucked senseless...hope he didn't pop a hernia.

 
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Insidious Von

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The Rock saz, Lindsey can keep up with him in the gym...what chance did PK have!

 
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jcpro

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He never really lived up to the hype. Sort of like Lindros. Still, a decent dman...who failed to make that last step into greatness.
 

silentkisser

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He never really lived up to the hype. Sort of like Lindros. Still, a decent dman...who failed to make that last step into greatness.
What hype? He was a second round pick that developed really quickly in the AHL. He wasn't a Lindros type prospect where everyone knew his name or thought he'd be a superstar.

Now, as to why he is retiring, someone mentioned that he wasn't getting the right offers. That is probably true. He's on the wrong side of 30 and the cap is fairly flat. His skills have diminished a bit, but I think he was still a top four d-man. I also think that he maybe didn't want to jump around to a bunch of teams over the next few years. I mean, if someone offered him $3M for three years, I think he'd take it.

I also think he'll appear on a broadcast soon. He's got charisma to spare. Would have loved him on the Leafs in his prime.

Now, as to the Kaepernick comparison, I just don't see where you are coming from with that. He isn't being black balled because he spoke out against racial injustice, he isn't being black balled at all.
 
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HumbleJoe

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He never really lived up to the hype. Sort of like Lindros. Still, a decent dman...who failed to make that last step into greatness.
PK was a second round draft pick. Lindros was a 'can't miss" prospect since his days at St. Mike's. Hardly the same. Not to mention that PK won a Norris and played for 13 years. I'd say that he exceeded expectations based on where he was drafted.
 
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jcpro

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What hype? He was a second round pick that developed really quickly in the AHL. He wasn't a Lindros type prospect where everyone knew his name or thought he'd be a superstar.

Now, as to why he is retiring, someone mentioned that he wasn't getting the right offers. That is probably true. He's on the wrong side of 30 and the cap is fairly flat. His skills have diminished a bit, but I think he was still a top four d-man. I also think that he maybe didn't want to jump around to a bunch of teams over the next few years. I mean, if someone offered him $3M for three years, I think he'd take it.

I also think he'll appear on a broadcast soon. He's got charisma to spare. Would have loved him on the Leafs in his prime.

Now, as to the Kaepernick comparison, I just don't see where you are coming from with that. He isn't being black balled because he spoke out against racial injustice, he isn't being black balled at all.
I said "sort of like". Suban came in with lots of promise and he was always treated by the hockey media like a superstar dman, even though he was.
 

maurice93

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I said "sort of like". Suban came in with lots of promise and he was always treated by the hockey media like a superstar dman, even though he was.
Your two posts in this thread are misinformed takes. He was nowhere close to a Lindtos. Subban was picked in the 40s .. a round in which half the players don’t even play 100 career games in the NHL.

He was a second round pick. In a 6 year period he won a Norris and was third twice in voting. That is a high peak performance for a hockey player (top 10% percentile)

When he entered the league people thought he was a good prospect but nobody thought he was a superstar to be. When he stepped on the ice with the Habs, no analyst thought it was likely for him to win a Norris or be top 3, 3 times by the age of 27. He easily surpassed the expectations for him when he entered the league.

The only area that Subban did disappoint in was his rapid decline once he hit the age of 28. That was disappointing based on what he had done before the of his 27.

That being said his career easily surpassed what people thought was likely when he was 19 or 20.
 
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HumbleJoe

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Not to mention that Lindros was an absolute beast in the league until concussions got the best of him. And he still ended up in the HOF. There are much better examples of players that didn't 'live up to the hype'.
 

maurice93

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At this point Subban is a #6d. NHL teams really squeeze the salary on 4th line and bottom pair D — they don’t have the resources under the cap to pay them much. The market value for these type of players is $800k-$1.5m.

If Subban couldn’t get much more than a minimum contract, or couldn’t get in one of the few situations he wanted to go to at a minimum, I could see him making the push to retire.

He might make just a bit less on ESPN Hockey coverage. Someone mentioned above that Subban would be getting 8 million as a TV personality / analyst on ESPN. There is no way he, or any hockey analyst is getting close to that at ESPN.
 
Ashley Madison
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