The big story in the aftermath of the last meeting between the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers was captain Mike Richards’ comments to Montreal radio station Team 990 about Canadien rookie defenseman P.K. Subban:
“He’s come in the league and hasn’t earned respect. It’s just frustrating to see a young guy like that come in here and so much as think that he’s better than a lot of people. You have to earn respect in this League. It takes a lot. You can’t just come in here as a rookie and play like that. It’s not the way to get respect from other players around the league and hopefully someone on their team addresses it, because I’m not saying I’m going to do it, but something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky.”
The Montreal media jumped on the statement, arguing that Richards is just a whiny goon and that the League should investigate punishing him for his remarks. The Montreal media, if you haven’t caught on, aren’t exactly bright. Subban didn’t seem to read too much from it, telling ESPN, “I’m not the only person that’s confident when I play the game. Maybe the fact I’m a young guy coming in that maybe people don’t take well to that. As long as my teammates and the coaching staff are happy with what I’m doing, I’m going to continue to do that.”
Richards later clarified what his intentions were with TSN columnist James Duthie:
“I went through the same thing. I remember my first year, we were playing against New Jersey and I was running around and lipping off to Patrick Elias. Elias came to me and Sergei Brylin too, and they said, ‘If you continue to show disrespect for players, you are going to get hurt.’ That really hit home. I didn’t want to be known as that guy who shows disrespect. I want to be a guy who plays hard in between the whistles but not cross the line. That was six years ago, but it hit home. When you hear it from a guy like Patrick Elias, who has a done a lot in this league and is well respected, you remember.”
On the one hand, Richards’ original comments certainly have a “watch your back” tone, but they were taken out of context by the media at large. Richards’ follow-up with Duthie explains it better and raises a good point- that nobody in the league gets a free pass. Respect has to be earned, not expected. Subban is considered to be a potential Calder trophy nominee by the Montreal media, and that’s about it.
Ever since the 2010 Eastern Conference finals, Subban has rubbed me the wrong way. I remember him embellishing on a high stick and running to the referees, looking for a call that wasn’t there. I don’t watch the Canadiens regularly enough to be able to remark that he’s a whiner, but his chirping and facewashing with the Flyers last week left a bad taste in my mouth, much as I imagine it did for Richards.
It remains to be seen whether or not the back-and-forth comments will amount to anything on the ice, but it provides a nice backdrop for a crucial game for the Flyers. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price earned another shutout since the Flyers lost 3-0, and special teams will have to step it up if they are going to solve Price.
It also remains to be seen whether Philadelphia fans will ever be as classless as Canadiens fans, if this photo taken at the last game between the two clubs is any indication.
