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It was announced yesterday that P.K. Subban won't play this upcoming weekend. So while many fans are disappointed that they won't be able to see the Subbanator in action, they'll get to see the next best thing tonight against the Sens: The Scrivenator. Now, you may think that there are no similarities between the two that would allow Scrivens to be granted the usage of the suffix 'ator' but you would be wrong. Just think, when the puck is on Subban's stick, does your heart start to pump slightly harder in anticipation of what's about to happen? Then think of Scrivens. When the puck is on his stick, your heart probably starts to pump harder as well...out of fear of what's about to happen but it beats harder all the same. Tune in tonight at 7 PM on Sportsnet and TVA Sports for plenty of heart-pumping action...or to see Scott Gomez play one more time, whatever works for you.

I'm hoping Gilbert would be willing to assume that role (and get paid as such)

I can see where PK Subban would get on your nerves from time to time. He's a Big Personality, takes up a lot of oxygen in any room he's in. And I agree that he would be more likely to irritate veterans than young guys. It's like my 9-year-old basset hound...when he meets young dogs who spring and jump and run around, he finds them irritating. (It's interesting that Subban and Price are buddies. Price is like the polar opposite. Mr. Calm, Gainey-esque in his demeanour.) But to go from being irritated with PK to hating him and wanting him out? That's another story. PK also seems to have a big heart, to have fundamentally sound values - he's in no way a punk like Ribeiro or Evander Kane seem to be - and obviously and genuinely burns with a desire to win. Any veteran with half a brain would look at this guy and see a core piece in an eventual Cup winner. If a veteran came to me and said PK has to go, the first thing I would do is start looking to move that vet.

Nice one! For the record, I am NOT declaring DSP to be a top-6 player. I'm just saying that IF he becomes one, that will count as an inexcusable failure on Therrien's part. He had a solution to the organization's biggest problem staring him in the face for two years and did zilch with it. Unforgivable. But that is all based on the huge 'IF.' Like most of you, I don't see DSP as a top-6 player and suspect this is just a freak thing, like those little tears Raffe Torres used to go on. What does worry me a bit is that the Habs may be one of these organizations that unloads guys who have less-than-ideal personality profiles, rather than working with them to get the most out of them. Kassian blows up? Ship him out without even giving him a chance post-rehab. DSP is lazy or too much on the party? Gonzo. I don't like this 'moralizing' approach. I think in today's NHL you have to be deeply committed to maximizing assets. But I'm not saying the Habs ARE still falling into this old-school trap; just speculating that it may be a problem.

I'll take the passion over indifference every day. Do I want Quebec City to win the Cup? Or Winnipeg? Nope. Only one team gets to win it anyhow. Even bloody New Jersey and NYI lose money, and they're in the biggest sports market on the continent. Quebec City wouldn't be in the bottom 8, and would have big support in good years (like Ottawa). And they would care - Atlanta doesn't miss the NHL and Phoenix wouldn't. Only the snowbirds in Florida would, and a Cup is the only reason why Carolina and Tampa would. I'm a fan of the sport, not the dollar figure on Bettman's next TV deal. The bastard makes $15 million and doesn't care one iota in the way that Quebec City and the whole province of Quebec would if the Nordiques came back. The NHL will survive whether or not ESPN or NBC carries it. Passion and packed arenas, I want these for the NHL and any league I watch. The Nordiques are special in a way that few American teams are. They belong in the hockey world.

Law of averages there. Someone has to score. Countless examples of average players putting up solid point totals with terrible teams.

Gents before we get too upset about the DSP trade, consider that his shooting % is currently over 42%. Does anyone think he will be able sustain that?

High taxes, small population, zero U.S. TV interest or knowledge, rivalry with one team in their province and nowhere else, completely dependent on a high Canadian dollar, etc. Good for the sport though!