P.K. Subban contract: After short holdout, defenseman signs two-year deal with Canadiens

The only fear a general manager, in this case Habs GM Marc Bergevin, faces in an RFA negotiation is that the player will sign an offer sheet from another club. That offer sheet could be the ticket out of town, or it could be the massive uptick in price that stymies the club’s efforts to lock in their RFA at a reasonable rate.

In a normal year, management also faces a Dec. 1 deadline to sign their RFA’s before they’re forced to sit for the season. It puts pressure on both the club and the player to come to terms before that date, but with the lockout this season, there was no deadline.

Under the terms of the deal, Subban will make $2 million in the first year and $3.75 in the second. Those figures are similar to the ones reportedly offered by Montreal last spring. Subban couldn’t get the Canadiens to budge on the years, but he did get a bit more money out of them. The salary cap hit against Montreal is $2.8 million.

Subban scored seven goals and added 29 assists in 81 games last year, and he led all Montreal defensemen in ice time. He also tied for second on the team with five power play goals.