P. K. Subban

**P. K. Subban** (born Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban on May 13, 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.

## Playing Career

### Junior

P.K. spent his junior career with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. In the 2005–06 season, he recorded 12 points in a 52-game rookie campaign. In the 2006–07 season, he improved to 56 points in 68 games, where he was later drafted by the Canadiens in the off-season at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

P.K. then recorded 46 points in just 58 games during the 2007–08 campaign, before adding 23 points and matching his regular season goals total of eight in the post-season. He helped Belleville to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals against the Kitchener Rangers, where they lost the OHL title in seven games.

P.K. finished his four-year junior career with 76 points in 56 games in the 2008–09 regular season, with the Bulls advancing to the league playoffs, losing in the OHL semi-finals.

### Professional

**Montreal Canadiens**

In May 2009, two weeks after his last junior game, P.K. was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Canadiens. He began the 2009–10 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's American Hockey League affiliate. Later in the season, he was then selected to play in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game in Portland.

Shortly thereafter, P.K. earned his first call-up to the Canadiens on February 11, 2010. The following day, he registered his first career NHL point with an assist in his debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 12, 2010.

On April 26, 2010, P.K. was recalled from Hamilton during the Canadiens' first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Washington Capitals.

He recorded his first NHL playoff point, an assist, in his first career NHL playoff game on that same day. His first goal came in Game 1 of the Canadiens' second round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 30, 2010.

In Game 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, P.K. became the third rookie defenceman in Canadiens history to register three assists in one game. In all, he recorded one goal and eight points in 14 playoff games for the Canadiens, who ultimately fell to Philadelphia.

After the Canadiens were eliminated by the Flyers, P.K. was returned to the Bulldogs, who were still in contention in the Calder Cup playoffs. At the end of the AHL season, he was awarded the AHL President's Award in recognition of his accomplishments for the year.

On March 20, 2011, he became the first Canadiens rookie defenceman to score a hat-trick in a game, which came in an 8–1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Playing in 81 games in the 2011–12 season, P.K. recorded seven goals and 29 assists. A restricted free agent after the season, he sat out the first four games of the 2012–13 season, which was postponed until January 2013 due to a labour lock-out, while the two sides negotiated a contract.

On January 28, 2013, he eventually signed a two-year, $5.75 million deal with Montreal. He scored 11 goals and 27 assists, matching his career-high 38 points despite playing in only 42 games due to the lock-out.

At the end of the season, P.K. was awarded with the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's defenceman of the year, edging-out Kris Letang and Ryan Suter for the honor. On July 3, 2013, he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.

P.K. then played all 82 games during the 2013–14 regular season, in which he registered a total of 53 points, ten of which were goals. During the 2014 playoffs, he was one of Montreal's most important assets, registering 14 points in 17 games as the Canadiens ultimately reached the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to the New York Rangers.

P.K. became a restricted free agent at the close of the 2013–14 season when his contract expired. According to the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, he earned the right to salary arbitration, having signed his first Standard Player Contract between the ages of 18 and 20 and having accrued four years of professional experience or more. He subsequently filed for arbitration before the deadline of July 5, 2014.

The hearing took place on August 1, 2014, with P.K.'s camp asking for a one-year deal worth $8.5 million, while the Canadiens offered a one-year deal worth $5.5 million.

Under NHL CBA rules, the parties could continue to negotiate and reach an agreement until the arbitrator announced her decision, given in the 48 hours following the hearing. As arbitration was player-elected, once the arbitrator released her decision, the team would have had 48 hours to agree to the terms or walk away from the player, thereby making Subban an unrestricted free agent.

The day after the hearing, on August 2, 2014, it was announced that P.K. and the Habs had agreed to terms on an eight-year, $72 million contract, running through the 2021–22 season. The contract made him the highest-paid defenceman in the NHL and third-highest-paid NHL player overall at the time. It included a no-trade clause that would take effect July 1, 2016.

On September 15, 2014, P.K. was named an alternate captain of the Canadiens along with Max Pacioretty, Tomáš Plekanec, and Andrei Markov as Montreal head coach Michel Therrien elected not to award a captaincy following Brian Gionta's departure in off-season.

**Nashville Predators**

On June 29, 2016, P.K. (in a blockbuster move) was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Shea Weber. During his first season with the club, he recorded 10 goals and 40 points in 66 games.

The Predators qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They advanced to the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but were defeated in six games. He finished the postseason with 12 points in 22 games.

On May 2, 2018, P.K. was named one of three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as a player who best exemplifies leadership qualities and gives back to his community; the award eventually went to Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

**New Jersey Devils**

On June 22, 2019, P.K. was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Steven Santini, prospect Jeremy Davies, and two second-round draft picks.

P.K. faced one of his former clubs, the Montreal Canadiens for the first time on November 16, 2019, a 4–3 Devils' victory. Each time P.K. touched the puck, he was booed by Canadiens fans.

He faced another one of his former clubs, the Nashville Predators on December 7, 2019 in a 6–4 Predators' victory. During that game, he was given a tribute video and a standing ovation from Predators fans.

## International Play

Subban was selected to play for Canada at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic.

He saw limited ice time as Canada's seventh defenceman, but he was able to help the team capture their fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament, defeating Sweden in overtime in the final.

Subban again represented Canada at the 2009 World Juniors in Ottawa, taking on a more central role with the team. He scored three goals and nine points and a differential of +12 in the tournament, helping Canada to its fifth consecutive gold medal as they once again defeated Sweden in the final.

Subban was named to the Tournament All-Star Team (along with Cody Hodgson and tournament MVP John Tavares). He was invited to participate in the 2012 IIHF World Championship, but was injured during pre-tournament play.

In the next season, he was a late addition to the Canadian team at the 2013 edition of the tournament; he joined them in the elimination round for one game, which Canada lost.

On January 7, 2014, Subban was named to Canada's 2014 Winter Olympic team for participation in the Games in Sochi in defence of their 2010 gold medal. Canada won gold, prevailing 3–0 over Sweden in the tournament final.

## Personal Life

P.K. was born in Toronto and raised in the city's Rexdale neighbourhood. His parents both immigrated to Ontario from the Caribbean in the 1970s.

His father, Karl (a retired school principal) moved from Jamaica to Sudbury; he is the fifth leading scorer in Lakehead University basketball history. His mother, Maria, came from Montserrat to Hamilton.

He has four siblings: sisters Nastassia (who played basketball at York University and ended her university career as the all-time leading scorer in Ontario University Athletics) & Natasha, and brothers Malcolm & Jordan.

Malcolm is a goaltender who was selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Malcolm and P.K. faced each other for the first time on December 8, 2017 game on the elder Subban's home ice. Malcolm (who was starting in net for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury) earned the win.

Jordan was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for the Dornbirn Bulldogs of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).

P. K., Malcolm, and Jordan all played for the Belleville Bulls during their junior hockey career.

Growing up, P.K. was good friends with Toronto Maple Leafs player John Tavares. He also played and won a Triple-A Novice title with Tampa Bay Lightning captain and star Steven Stamkos.

Although he was raised in Toronto, P.K. didn't grow up as a fan of the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. He revealed on the Montreal talk show "Tout le monde en parle" that he always wanted to play for Montreal ever since he was a kid. He also said that Canadiens' legend Jean Béliveau was one of his biggest idols growing up as a hockey player.

During the 2018 NHL Awards, P.K. was revealed as the cover athlete for the NHL 19 video game.

In June 2018, P.K. began a relationship with American skier Lindsey Vonn. On August 23, 2019, they announced their engagement; on Christmas Day 2019, Vonn proposed to him.

### Endorsements

In addition to the RW-CO deal, Subban's marketing company, P.K.S.S., has landed him several business partnerships including ones with Bridgestone, Gatorade and Air Canada.

### Personality and style

Subban is known for his exciting and hard-hitting style of play as well as having a colourful personality that has been criticized by some as brash and self-absorbed.

In an interview with ESPN.com, he addressed it:

*"A lot of things are said about me. And maybe if I didn't play in Montreal to start my career, a lot of those things would not have made news. But when you're in Montreal, everything gets kind of blown up and everything becomes news, which is fine. None of that stuff ever really bothered me. I'm not that self-absorbed where I think everybody on the planet is going to love me or love everything about me. They're all not going to love the way I play the game or think I'm the best-looking guy in the world. It's just not going to happen. You're going to have people disagree. They may not think how I play the game is the right way. Or they may not think everything I do is truly authentic and real, but that's just life. What are you going to do? All you do is continue to work on yourself every day as a player and as a person, and that's it. I try to get better every day and continue to do good things, not just for myself, but for the people around me, and just create good energy around me wherever I go, because that's the only way to live, in my opinion."*

Off the ice, P.K. has a well-known, stylish sense of fashion. He often is seen in designer suits and unique accessories; that appreciation of style has been parlayed into being the spokesman for a RW-CO line of suits.

He was ranked in the top 50 of "Best Dressed" athletes by Sports Illustrated and made their alternate cover page in July 2018. In May 2019, he showcased his hatmaker Gunner Foxx and bespoke tailor and shoemaker Sartorialto for GQ Magazine.

### Philanthropy

Before the 2015–16 season, on September 16, 2015, P.K. announced a commitment to raise $10 million for the Montreal Children's Hospital by 2022. The hospital called it "the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history."

After his donation, he continued his commitment as spokesman and organized the "Winter Wonderland" with Air Canada at the hospital before the holidays. In 2017, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross (Civil Division) in recognition of how his "generous gift stands as an example of how professional athletes can positively change lives in their communities".

He was also added to the "Google.org Impact Challenge" judge panel in Canada, to help choose which organizations should receive money to help Canada.

After his trade to Nashville, P.K. continued his philanthropy. The P.K.'s Blue Line Buddies focused on building better relations between law enforcement and inner-city youths, by treating a police officer, a youth and their guests to a Predators home game with perks like autographs and dinner in Bridgestone Arena's Patron Platinum Club.

In June 2020, P.K. donated US$50,000 to the GoFundMe effort to raise money for Gianna Floyd, the daughter of the late George Floyd.