Two days ago, the Canadiens traded P.K. Subban over chemistry issues. On Friday, they reportedly agreed to terms with Alexander Radulov, whose middle name may actually be chemistry issues.
Radulov, a 30-year-old goal-scoring winger, has played in the KHL since 2012, when he missed curfew and was suspended for two games of Nashville's playoff loss to the Coyotes.
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Alexander Radulov has signed with Montreal.
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) July 1, 2016
That'd be amazing enough on its own — but Shea Weber, Montreal's return for Subban, was the captain of the Predators. The captain! And he was one of the guys that wanted Radulov to come to Nashville midseason in the first place.
Here's what he said then — note the word "betrayed:"
“I don’t really know what to say about it because I was one of the guys that stood up for him and wanted him back. There were a bunch of us that played with him that felt the same way."
“You feel a little bit betrayed, but I am sure he feels bad about it now and he looks back on it and wishes it didn’t happen. Those are the things you can’t take back and we’ve got to move forward.”
Are they cool now? Did Marc Bergevin bother checking? Why is this happening?
On paper, it's happening because Radulov is still probably capable of filling it up and will come cheap, even though he initially wanted $7.5 million a year for two years to leave the KHL. It's a decent on-ice risk, and something a lot of teams would be smart to try.
But because it's the Canadiens, it's amazing and ironic and ridiculous. Radulov, who has been an actual, public problem for his team in the past and is not one of the few best players at his position, is in Montreal — and P.K. Subban isn't.