Hockey Hearsay compiles stories from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, 12 months a year.
WEEKES DEFENDS HABS’ SUBBAN
The Montreal Gazette runs head-on at the notion that the hockey world is still getting used to the idea of the black superstar — and that’s where Montreal Canadiens defencemen P.K. Subban has hit rough waters at times.
“P.K. is good-looking, well-dressed and black,” hockey analyst Kevin Weekes, who has been a friend and mentor to Subban since the blueliner was 8 years old and attended Weekes’ hockey camp, told The Gazette. “He’s not just a great player, he’s a great person.”
Why so much criticism directed at Subban, when he is far from the first black player in the league?
“It’s a different narrative,” Weekes said. “P.K. is black. He isn’t bi-racial. He didn’t play in the Western Hockey League. That’s one of the myths of the NHL, that if you didn’t play in the WHL, you don’t have grit. We know that’s not true, but that’s the perception.
“Some people, no matter what you do, they’re going to find fault. They’ve never met him, but they tell you P.K. has an attitude problem. That’s never been true, but P.K. has to learn to deal with them.
“He’s learned that you endear yourself to more people when you recognize that it’s not about you. It’s disarming. People say, ‘Oh, this guy’s cocky,’ but then when they meet you, they realize that’s not true at all.
“Sometimes, people don’t recognize their biases. They say he’s cocky, he turtles, he’s a showboat, all these things — but they don’t realize that they have this perception because he’s different. People fear what they don’t know.”
YOUTH IS SERVED FOR SENS
The Ottawa Citizen supposes perhaps nobody bothered to tell the Ottawa Senators’ rookie forwards that inexperienced players aren’t supposed to have instant success in the NHL playoffs.
“I think it has been good for us, just going out there and playing and doing what we do, and the whole ‘not knowing what it’s all about thing’ is maybe good in a way,” Mika Zibanejad suggested following practice in Ottawa Wednesday. “We do have a lot of experienced guys who know what you need to do to go far, so it’s a good mix, just letting the young guys go and do their thing.”
Coach Paul MacLean says the team’s use of younger players is in keeping with what is still an organization in rebuilding mode.
“With our core of leadership, it’s easier to use younger players,” he said. “But the quality of the players we’ve been able to put into the lineup is very high. If they were not good enough players, we probably wouldn’t put them on the ice.”
MALKIN FINDS GOOD LUCK CHARM
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes at least Evgeni Malkin might have a higher power on his side when the Penguins play the Islanders in Game 5.
Malkin was the last man off the ice in Game 4. Following a skirmish in the game’s final seconds, one of the Islanders ripped Malkin’s good luck chain and crucifix off his neck. Cameras caught a concerned Malkin looking for them on the ice for a couple of minutes after the game.
While departing Consol Energy Center on Wednesday following a team meeting, Malkin was asked if he found what he was looking for.
“Oh yeah,” he said with a relieved look.
He then opened his right hand to reveal the chain and crucifix, both of which he was carrying.
SAKIC TO TAKE ON LARGER AVS’ ROLE?
The Denver Post reports Avalanche great Joe Sakic soon is expected to take on a larger role in the team’s front office, an NHL source said Wednesday.
Sakic, 43, has served as an executive adviser with the Avs the past two seasons. It is unclear what Sakic’s new job title will be.
Told Joe Sakic will be taking over the hockey side of the Avalanche.per @realkyper earlier report, filling Elway type roll. announce soon.
— Daren Millard (@darenmillard) May 8, 2013
Greg Sherman is the team’s general manager. Pierre Lacroix currently holds the title of team president for the Avs.
The team had no comment about Sakic’s future role.
IRVING’S AGENT SELLS CLIENT’S POTENTIAL
The Calgary Herald indicates the Flames have not made a peep about goaltender Leland Irving’s future with the organization.
Less tight-lipped was Irving’s agent, Ritch Winter.
“I’m convinced that he’s going to be a very good No. 1 goaltender in the National Hockey League — when he’s given the opportunity,” Winter says from his Edmonton office. “I’ve represented Tommy Salo, Dominik Hasek, Tomas Vokoun and many other goaltenders that have struggled before they found their way . . . and I think I’ve come to understand the position very well. In my opinion, Leland is the best goalie the Flames have under contract, not including Kiprusoff. As far as goalies under the age of 30, they don’t have a better goalie in their system.
He added: “One thing I don’t think we’ll have? Trouble finding Leland employment,” he says. “He would like that to be in Calgary . . . but that would require them to want him back.
“You and I will have this conversation in five or six years, and he’ll either be a key part to leading Calgary back to the Stanley Cup playoffs — or he’ll be (like former Flames properties) Craig Anderson and J.S. Giguere and doing it somewhere else.”
WHAT WOULD NICK DO?
The Detroit Free Press reveals the Red Wings have a saying for their defensemen: What would Nick do?
For 20 seasons, Nicklas Lidstrom demonstrated how to do the job, along the way scooping up seven Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman before retiring last year.
“I should have one of those rubber bracelets, instead of J put an N there,” Smith said Wednesday, as he prepared for Game 5 against the Ducks. “I have to think sometimes of what he would do in certain situations where maybe the pass isn’t there and you’ve got to go glass-out of your zone. I think I’ve done a lot better at that, taking care of the puck. That’s the thing that I’ve been trying to work on, and it’s helped me.”
Coach Mike Babcock offered this: “Smitty is a work in progress, like lots of our blue line, but he’s done a good job for us. The thing that he is, he’s ultra competitive. We just always say to him: What would Nick have done, and that means simple first.”
MATTEAU STILL UPSET WITH QMJHL TEAM
Fire & Ice lays out the entire chain of events between Devils’ prospect Stefan Matteau, his junior team, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, and his father/Armada assistant coach and former NHLer Stephane.
Now, the test for Stefan is to learn from this incident and make sure it doesn’t negatively impact the rest of his career. Stefan called Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello after he was released to tell him what happened and is now getting ready to attend the team’s development camp in July and training camp in September.
“I made a lot of mistakes in my career,” Stephane Matteau said. “We all make mistakes as an 18, 19-year-old and it’s what he’s going to do going forward. It’s a learning process and he’s fine. He talked to Lou. I told him to call him the next day and he should be ready for the summer and get ready for camp. Things happen. There’s a lot worse cases than that in any organization that you have players (that are not released) – I don’t want to go into detail – but (Stefan was released) for just a shouting match.
“Personally, what I didn’t like was it coming out in the paper and that they had a big press conference. I’m their co-worker and they came out and they made a big scene. They don’t even do that in the pros. To separate a kid from the others like that, I thought it was unfair and still today I’m choked (up) because I don’t agree with what they did.”