from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette,

I think general manager Marc Bergevin was disingenuous when he said he wasn’t shopping Subban. He may not have initiated any of the talks, but he was certainly listening to offers. I also believe he looked on the deal for Shea Weber as a hockey deal that will help the Canadiens, at least in the short term.

The Canadiens need size and Weber and has five or six inches on Subban. He’ll offer more protection for Price and his wonky knee. He has been described as an intimidator, a term that has never been applied to Subban. He’s an upgrade on the power play. By all accounts, he’s boring on and off the ice and that’s fine with the Canadiens.

Frustrated fans have to separate the past from the present. Last season was a disaster, but there’s every reason to believe that the Canadiens are headed in the right direction.

Some Habs critics point to the Detroit Red Wings as a success story, but they’ve won only one playoff round in the past four seasons and they had the best coach in the world for three of those seasons. The Canadiens with their supposedly mediocre GM and coach have won three series in the same span.

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