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The following is an excerpt from If These Walls Could Talk: Montreal Canadiens by Pat Hickey (Triumph Books, 304 pages, $23.95).

The Trade

As the hockey world gathered in Buffalo for the 2016 NHL entry draft, there was renewed speculation that the Canadiens were shopping P.K. Subban.

General Manager Marc Bergevin brought a temporary halt to the talk when he met the media on the afternoon prior to the draft. “I have no intention of trading P.K. Subban,” declared Bergevin. “He’s an important part of our team.”

When he wasn’t traded during the draft, the assumption was that he would remain with the Canadiens, but a deal to move the most popular Canadien was already in the works.

Nashville general manager David Poile broached the subject before the first round of the draft on Friday afternoon, and the talks continued through the weekend. Both sides played their cards close to the vest, and the announcement that Subban had been traded for Shea Weber came as a shock. The news broke on June 29, two days before a no-trade clause in Subban’s contract was scheduled to kick in.