Tuesday's morning skate was overshadowed by Monday's news of P.K. Subban finally coming to an agreement with the Canadiens.
Head coach Michel Therrien has yet to have a conversation with the larger-than-life defenceman since taking on the position of head coach. He was unable to be in contact with Subban because he was not under contract with the Canadiens and then came the NHL lockout.
Therrien and general manager Marc Bergevin will meet with Subban Tuesday night when the team arrives in Ottawa after their game at home against the Winnipeg Jets. Buying into a team concept is an area Therrien stressed will be important for Subban.
There is no timeline as to when fans will see number 76 back on the ice as the coaching staff first needs to evaluate his conditioning and then go from there. Andrei Markov was not too eager to speak about his fellow blueliner. He refused to answer any questions about Subban after the morning skate, saying he will only talk about him once he is back in the room. Other veteran players Josh Gorges and Erik Cole seemed to be more relieved that the off-ice saga has finally come to an end.
In other news, it was an optional morning skate and Rene Bourque, Brian Gionta, Tomas Plekanec and Francis Bouillon were the four players who decided to take the option. One small lineup change will see defenceman Tomas Kaberle is back in after missing Sunday's game against the Devils due to an injury and Yannick Weber sitting out.
