The Predators in the offseason traded for D P.K. Subban, and the team is not only counting on him to "help them on the ice this season, but also to help sell the game in Nashville," according to Stu Cowan of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. The team is "off to a good start, with the Predators selling out a preseason game for the first time in franchise history for Subban’s debut." The Predators also "sold out a team-record 35 regular-season games last season" before they traded D Shea Weber to the Canadiens for Subban. Nashville Tennessean Predators reporter Adam Vingan said, "It still is a pretty niche hockey market." But he said that the Predators have "boosted their profile by doing a lot of goodwill work in the community, hosting last year’s NHL All-Star Game," getting a first-round playoff win over the Ducks and then acquiring Subban (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 10/13). Subban said he is "really excited about the city of Nashville." He said, “In the U.S., there’s no glass ceiling. The U.S. is not a conservative place. It’s a place that embraces everything." SI.com's Alex Prewitt noted Subban during the offseason "requested to meet with team marketing executives to pitch promotional and charitable ideas." Predators President & CEO Sean Henry said, “What I loved about him is the answer’s yes, just ask the question. It’s so much more fun to just say yes, and that’s his attitude." Subban: "To come into Nashville, Tennessee, where hockey is still developing, completely different from Montreal, everybody is going to ask this question until Christmas time, until everybody gets to know me: Does P.K. like Nashville? Is he comfortable here? And you can sense it among the players. They just want to know. Everybody’s reaching out, making sure this and that are good" (SI.com, 10/12).
BREAK UPS ARE NEVER EASY: In Toronto, Peter Edwards notes a "distraught Montreal hockey fan has taken out a full-page ad" in the Montreal Gazette to "protest" the trade of Subban. The fan "used the page of space to blast the Canadiens for trading Subban" and "thanked Subban for his service to the Canadiens." The fan also "blasted" Canadiens Exec VP & GM Marc Bergevin and head coach Michel Therrien. The fan wrote that his family will "boycott the Habs this season -- except for when Subban returns on March 2" with the Predators (TORONTO STAR, 10/14).
