P.K. Subban, once again. is at the centre of controversy. And once again, it’s the fault of his head coach, Michel Therrien, who made a point of putting the blame for the club’s latest loss on Subban’s shoulders.

Now, there are reports that the Canadiens have gauged Subban’s trade value on the open market.

Could the 26-year-old right shot defenceman actually be traded? And if so, is there any better fit than Edmonton?

Subban tried to break past Grigorenko, had the puck knocked off his stick and then simultaneously blew a tire at the worst possible moment. Colorado scored the game-winner.

Therrien was unforgiving in his assessment. Bill Beacon reported his comments in the Toronto Star: 

Subban disagreed, saying that if he hadn’t lost an edge he would have taken the puck down the wall and potentially created an offensive opportunity. 

Given the history between player and coach and the already heated situation in Montreal, it’s no surprise that this has become a major story. Gasoline was poured on the fire Friday morning, when TVA’s Louis Jean tweeted out that Subban’s name had been mentioned in conversation between general managers:

It’s important not to overstate this; it’s easy enough to imagine a scenario where General Manager X called up Marc Bergevin and in the course of the conversation brought up Subban. If Bergevin stayed on the line and solely out of curiosity asked how this rival G.M. would peg the player, that would be consistent with “gauging the market” without conveying an intent to trade the player.

If, though, we entertain the idea that Montreal would be crazy enough to entertain trading Subban, there aren’t many teams in the NHL that would be a better fit than the Oilers.

Outside of Connor McDavid, there isn’t a player on the Oilers’ roster who would be more important to the team than P.K. Subban if Subban were magically to appear in the system.

Subban is a legitimate No. 1 defenceman who plays in all situations. He’s a right shot. He’s only 26 years old. He’s an exceptional skater, he’s offensively gifted, and he’s also a 210-pound physical defender. He’s under team control at a $9.0 million cap hit from now until 2022.  

He’s the ideal cornerstone defensive piece for Edmonton’s blue line.

If he legitimately becomes available—and I’m skeptical that he would—the Oilers would need to make a legitimate offer, with no player other than McDavid absolutely off-limits, including people like Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse. 

Montreal would be crazy to trade him, even if it brought back the good young centre the team has been looking for forever. Edmonton would be even crazier to pass if the opportunity to acquire him arose.