Adam Vingan

avingan@tennessean.com

After acquiring defenseman P.K. Subban from the Canadiens last week, Predators general manager David Poile declared something that would've been considered bold if it had come from any of his counterparts.

"After the trade, I am certain that we have one of the best defenses in the National Hockey League," he said.

The statement was met with a collective chuckle from rest of the NHL. Nashville's defense was already the best.

Losing defensemen like Seth Jones and Shea Weber, which the Predators have since January, would devastate most teams, but the Predators' defense may be more dynamic now than ever.

"I think the coaches will have a lot of flexibility in how they use our defense," Poile said. "Since we've had (coach) Peter (Laviolette) and we've changed our style a fair bit, it's players like P.K. Subban that are going to make the difference going from defense to offense."

The Canadiens' conservative style under coach Michel Therrien clashed with Subban's high-risk tendencies. When Laviolette's attack is working according to plan, the Predators' speed is uncontainable, allowing them to flood the offensive zone and fire shots at will.

Subban, one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the league, should excel within that system, though he will have to resist the urge to do too much with more freedom.

"The thing about our defense and especially the top three, not including P.K., is I think they're movable parts," Laviolette said, referring to Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis. "They all can skate, all can move the puck. I think he'll fit right in with them and we will have a very mobile top-four defense. And then I think from there, we'll figure it out as we go."

Who Subban will play with will be one of the most intriguing storylines of the Predators' preseason. He could simply replace Weber as Josi's defensive partner, which would put the third- and fourth-highest scoring NHL defensemen over the past three seasons on the same pair. The two have combined for 73 goals and 320 points within that span.

Laviolette could also choose to team Subban with Ekholm, who may be the Predators' most defensively sound defenseman following Weber's departure.

"Either way, the top four remain very strong," Laviolette said.

The NHL is anxiously waiting to see how Subban adjusts to his new surroundings, though there's little doubt that he instantly makes the Predators more exciting.

"I just want to give time for things to settle in," Subban said. "I don't know exactly what my role's going to be on the team or how I'm going to fit in. ... I just want to come in and listen and learn and be a part of this team."

Predators add Liambas: The Predators signed forward Michael Liambas to a one-year, two-way contract Wednesday worth $575,000 at the NHL level and $75,000 at the American Hockey League level. The 27-year-old spent last season in the Blackhawks organization, but was previously a member of the Milwaukee Admirals for two-plus seasons. He had two points and 188 penalty minutes in 44 games for the Rockford Icehogs.

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.

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