Subban vs. Richards: Subban takes Round 1

A lot has been made about the trash talk coming from Mike Richards of the Flyers towards Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban.


Subban is "cocky", said the Flyers captain in a radio interview and added "he thinks 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. Hopefully someone on their team addresses it, because, uh, I'm not saying I'm going to do it, but something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky."

What's funny is most of the coverage of this hasn't mentioned the fact that the KING of getting under the skin of opponents appears to be irked to the point where he needs to air his frustrations in public.

This is a player who basically went on a media strike last season, refusing to speak after photos and stories of the team partying ways was printed in the Phillie media. So the fact that he decided to say these comments in the public, proves PK is under his skin.

If he's such a forgettable rookie who has yet to earn respect, why waste your breath?

Is Subban really cocky? Or does he just know what to say to piss you off. Not to mention, Subban had an assist in that 3-0 win over the Flyers. A shutout would make me pretty sour, too.

If I were PK I wouldn't worry too much about "something happening" and take the fact that he irritated Richards to the point of trash-talking publicly as a compliment.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

PEEKAY!

The Canadiens sent P.K. Subban home today. But that's ok.

I'm sure even Subban expected to be sent home. It is very difficult to break into the NHL as a defenseman. But the good thing is. He looked great.

The nice thing to see is he seems to think the same,

''I learned that I can play at this level,'' Subban told TSN, ''The NHL is so fast, but I learned that it's a lot easier playing at this level.

''Everyone's in the right position. You just have to move the puck, especially as a defenceman. So I'm looking forward to my opportunity next year.''

EASIER! God love the boy, you know you've got a good one when he thinks the NHL will be easier than Junior when he finally gets there!

It'll also be nice to see him destroying the other teams at the World Juniors in December. Just sayin.