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News Article: Subban surprised Leafs didn’t sign him

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"I never thought of myself as a replacement player. I was always a top player in this league. I didn’t want to be a player who is in and out of the lineup every night." I'm pretty sure that's a good reason to avoid him. Your spot on a team is earned, not given to you based off past accomplishments. Those years should be gone for this franchise. I love the guy; but, he isn't what he used to be. If he was on board with a 6-7 role, I'm sure there would have been interest.
 
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Once upon a time, RD was quite the team need. That time has since passed.
 
Honestly never liked him.

Too much into and about himself.

An interesting personality for a hockey player for sure, but how great of a teammate he was is something I would question.

I wish him well. His donation to the Montreal children's hospital was an incredibly generous gesture. That it came after he was moved to Nashville was of significance as well.
 
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He was never an elite defender, even the year he won the Norris he played extremely sheltered soft minutes, IIRC he barely played any PK time ( my memory might be wrong but it was less than 10 minutes all season) and scored a lot on the PP. A Norris winner who does not play in the most required defensive situations (PK) and wins a Norris because he scores a boatload on the least defensive deployment possible (PP))?

He was a run and gun riverboat gambler of a d-man, he was always looking to bring the crowd to their feet. TBH he was more focused on being an entertainer than being an elite defenceman. The guy had style and flash but not a lot of value as a shutdown defender.

The thing that annoyed me the most about him is he would do dirty stuff then skate away, very Avery, Marchand, Bunting like in that regard. When he was on the ice I was happy because I knew the Leafs would strip the puck from him and get golden chance after golden chance. He was never a player that I feared would be a difference maker in any game that we played vs his team. Defensively he was a bad defender. When a forward can't score, we call them a 4th liner. When a d-man can't defend, we call him a Norris winner.

That donation that he made to the Sick Kids, I thought 100% total class act. When I heard he did that my respect for the man went up 100%.
 
You don’t “get” anything. Liljegren proved that. Dude literally forced his way onto the team with stellar performances. Hell look at Timmins. He has the highest ppg for dman on the team and yet he gets sat when we have a fully healthy lineup

You get what you deserve here. Holls been sat a couple times because of that. Spezza started getting scratched because he couldn’t keep up with the nhl workload. Same with Simmonds. We may see Giordano do the same going more into the season

If you want to play the entire year, you better be good enough for that
 
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LeafSteel said:
His donation to the Montreal children's hospital was an incredibly generous gesture. That it came after he was moved to Nashville was of significance as well.
Click to expand...

My memory was he announced the donation and then a few months later he was traded because of "locker room issues".

It is possible that the money may not have been transferred until after the move.
But the announcement preceded the trade (from my bad memory).
 
TheBeastCoast said:
He pretty clearly didn't have the right mindset for the role he had to take to stay in the league. To much ego to accept what he was. Probably made the right choice to step away.
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This was probably the situation in a nutshell for many teams and I thought Leafs could have made an offee. As a 6 or 7 who would be in and out of the lineup and play most in the event of injury, it would make sense and I'd welcome him. He won a gold medal as a 7th D Man he was a pro about it then.

If he couldn't accept that role even if he played for free it would be a misplaced roster spot that would have otherwise been apprpriated to another player. Add in the potential drama and the risk isn't worth it even as I think some vinegar and/snarl.would do well for this team come playoffs.

I'd love to have had him for cheap but ego is best tempered through wisdom. Such wisdom would have extended his career for years.
 
He was a bottom 10 defenseman in the league last year. Could have been a sheltered #6/7 with powerplay specialty but obviously doesn't want that role.

That's all well and good, but he should be honest with himself about that.
 
he wanted a bigger role and a bigger paycheck than his play demanded , f***ing guys delusional
 
It's gotta be tough when you're considered one of the best at your position and one of the highest paid guys in the league, but then your body fails and simply can barely hack it as a replacement level guy.

Not that Subban was ever anywhere near the same tier as Brodeur, but it was like Marty had his career fizzle out in St. Louis - it was like he couldn't fathom the idea that he wasn't among the best in the world anymore
 
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Some guys age with a better understanding of who they are as a player by their mid 30s (ie Spezza).

Regardless he's where he should be - working in hockey media, which he's going to excel at, and the Leafs better off for not taking him
 
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hotpaws said:
he wanted a bigger role and a bigger paycheck than his play demanded , f***ing guys delusional
Click to expand...

this is so far from the truth. I've watched all his interviews on recent podcasts. He said he would have taken league minimum on a contending team. The guy is loaded, he doesn't need anymore money. He just wanted a role where he plays everyday on a contending team. He's right though, Edmonton could have easily used him.

I find it hilarious that people shit on Subban for having the same mindset as Giordano. Giordano has said the same thing, he doesn't want to come out of the line up. He's never been out of the line up and doesn't want breaks or nights off, he thinks that would negatively affect his game. He rather keep the motor going. How is that any different than Subban wanting to be an NHL regular?

No issues with this. Call it what you want, ego or having confidence in yourself. But he's made the right call to retire, being in and out of the line up isn't easy and is not for everyone. And he was able to recognize he is not a guy who could handle that. There should be more players who retire early instead of ruin their legacy by becoming a joke of a player in their late 30's
 
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