‘Je t’aime Montréal!’ P.K. Subban tells cheering Bell Centre fans at ceremony honouring him
PK Subban #PKSubban
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“Thank you so for much for honouring me tonight and my family. It means so much to me.”
Former Montreal Canadien P.K. Subban waves to fans during a tribute to his career prior to National Hockey League game against the Nashville Predators in Montreal Thursday Jan. 12, 2023. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette Article content
P.K. Subban was able to hold back the tears as fans gave him a long ovation, followed by chants of “P.K.! P.K.!” during a pregame ceremony Thursday night at the Bell Centre before the Canadiens played the Nashville Predators.
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Subban came on the ice as dapper as ever wearing a black turtleneck with brown slacks, an orange belt and a long, matching checkered jacket. He was joined by a young girl in a wheelchair who is a patient at the Montreal Children’s Hospital who was holding a Subban doll and a Youppi! doll in her lap.
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Former Montreal Canadien P.K. Subban brought his friend Mila out onto the ice for a tribute to his career prior to National Hockey League game against the Nashville Predators in Montreal Thursday Jan. 12, 2023. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
“I’d like to thank the Montreal Canadiens organization, Geoff Molson, the whole Molson family,” Subban said. “Thank you so for much for honouring me tonight and my family. It means so much to me.”
Subban played the first seven seasons of his 13-year NHL career with the Canadiens before being traded to the Predators on June 29, 2016 in exchange for Shea Weber. Subban announced his retirement as a player last September after spending his last three seasons with the New Jersey Devils.
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Subban said he had a special message from Élise Béliveau, the widow of Jean Béliveau, who had a special relationship with Subban but was unable to attend the ceremony Thursday night. Élise has spoken in the past about her fondness for Subban and how much she and her late husband — the Hall of Famer and former Canadiens captain — enjoyed watching him play.
“She tells me that Jean is smiling somewhere tonight,” Subban said.
“When you wear the CH … you play with the same passion that you fans bring every single night to this building,” P.K. Subban says. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
None of the players in the Canadiens lineup Thursday night were with the team during Subban’s final season with Montreal in 2015-16. The only three players from that year’s roster still with the team are Brendan Gallagher, Carey Price and Paul Byron, who are all on the injured list.
Subban had a message for the current Canadiens.
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“I’ve always felt that we had an understanding that when you wear the Montreal Canadiens jersey, when you wear the CH, that you play with the same passion that you fans bring every single night to this building.”
He finished his speech in French, saying: “Merci pour la belle vie, Montréal. Je t’aime Montréal!”
Carey Price escorts former teammate P.K. Subban off the ice after the ceremony on Thursday. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
At the end of the pregame ceremony, Price came on the ice to join Subban and they did the triple-low five that former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and former head coach Michel Therrien had told them they could no longer do when they were teammates.
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The fans at the Bell Centre loved it.
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
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