Former NHL enforcer John Scott says P.K. Subban is a 'piece of garbage'
P.K. Subban will make his Stanley Cup Final debut when the Nashville Predators open their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night. Not everyone is thrilled about that, apparently.
ESPN aired a feature highlighting the Predators defenseman over the weekend and it was not entirely complimentary. Former NHL enforcer John Scott, who retired after last season, didn't have great things to say about Subban.
"I don't like him. I think on the ice, he's a piece of garbage," said Scott. "Perceived as like a hot shot, this guy thinks he's better than everybody."
This kind of criticism isn't anything new for Subban. The 28-year-old has often been criticized by pundits around the game for letting his loud and boisterous personality command too much individual attention in a sport that places a strong emphasis on a team-first mentality.
That's reportedly one of the reasons that the Montreal Canadiens decided to trade Subban, an elite defenseman in his prime and a largely beloved member of the community, to the Predators last summer in exchange for the older, more reserved Shea Weber.
It is a bit surprising, however, that such harsh criticism comes from Scott, who is most known for his saga surrounding the 2016 All-Star Game. The two were briefly teammates last season when Scott was traded to Montreal, and they seemed to get along fine during those All-Star festivities in Nashville. They haven't had any significant on-ice incidents or altercations, so the comments are a bit curious.
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The 34-year-old Scott, who had 11 points and 544 penalty minutes in 286 career NHL games, has a growing reputation of being outspoken and candid in his thoughts on the NHL, so maybe he's gunning for a big job in the media with these hot takes.
Update: Scott joined TSN Montreal 690 on Tuesday to clarify his comments, which were apparently over a year old.
"I honestly hated everyone I played against, so it's not anything personal against P.K.," Scott said. "I hadn't met him at that time, and now that I've met him I actually like the guy, he's a good guy off the ice. On the ice, you know, I don't like him, and that's just all there is to it, I'm not going to back down from that comment. I didn't like playing against him, I didn't like some of his antics he did. You're allowed to not like people, it's not always rainbows and butterflies. Everyone, I hope, just please stop mean-tweeting me."
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"He's a world-class talent and one of the best defensemen in the league and he's a fun guy and he's perceived as having a good time on the ice and as an opposing player sometimes when you're losing 5-1 to that team and he's still whooping it up and doing the high-fives and all the celebrations, it gets under your skin and that's going to happen, especially when he's such a talented player," Scott said. "So, you know, the guys on the other team don't really like that when he's doing it in your barn or at their barn and they're having a great time and you're struggling and losing.
"I'm sure I wouldn't call him a piece of garbage to his face, he's a nice guy," Scott added. "I met him a few times now, so, you know, it's just on the ice, he does some stuff that gets under your skin."