Offseason Devils addition P.K. Subban, also known as the fiancé of famed Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, discusses how he met his future wife, his mental approach to the game and his outlook for his new team.

Q: Why is Lindsey Vonn the right girl for you?

A: Man, it’s hard to explain, because when Lindsey and I met, No. 1 it was completely unexpected. I didn’t really know much about her, she didn’t know much about me. … We clicked!

Q: What qualities does she have?

A: I think the biggest thing, and I always tell her this, she doesn’t like it, but when I first met her and we spent time together in the green room at the Nickelodeon “Kids’ Teen Choice Awards.” I spent time with her and her sister, and watching her interact with her sister kind of reminded me of my sisters and how they connected. Family’s really important to me, so that kind of drew me to look at her differently right away.

Q: Give me some adjectives that describe her.

A: Biggest heart you’ll ever find in someone, probably to a fault. She cares so much about everyone. And that’s a quality of hers that I have. I care a lot about people and I want to help as many people as I can. She’s very determined. Lindsey’s career and her life speaks for itself, what she’s gone through with injuries and all that stuff and how she’s persevered and has grown and continued to kind of rise above all the adversity in her career. Very rarely do you think — I’m sure I speak for a lot of athletes — do you believe that you’re gonna be with someone that can really understand the position that you’re in every day. She takes like 10 steps forward in terms of making sure that I’m the best prepared that I can be for my job and support me in doing that, and because she does that, I try to do everything I can to make her the happiest person on the planet. We’re a team, that’s what it comes down to.

Q: You met at the ESPYs?

A: I was doing an interview on the red carpet, they asked me how hot it was outside and I said (chuckle), “Not hotter than the way Lindsey Vonn looks.” We started talking in like November. I went to go see her and her family on Christmas Day, so Christmas Day’s our anniversary.

Q: What did you do on your first date?

A: Our first date was with her and her family. That was the only time I could see her, she was skiing at the time. She was able to come home for Christmas. I had brunch with my family that morning, went to the airport, flew from Toronto to Denver, got off the plane, my flight from Denver to Vail was cancelled, so I had to drive through a snowstorm 2¹/₂ hours to Vail. Got there, she opened the door, I was like 2¹/₂ hours later than I was supposed to be, but I think that’s how you start on the right foot. She understood probably that I was one of very few guys that would probably do that on Christmas Day (smile).

Q: You were engaged on Aug. 14. Have you set a date yet?

A: We’re working on that. I’m sure we would like to do it sooner than later. Her first response to me about the wedding is that we have a season that we’re gonna focus on, let’s focus on the season first.

Q: When was the first time you heard the N-word?

A: Somebody once said, “They don’t boo nobodys.” I think that there’s more jealousy in sports than racism, really. I think racism exists in the works, but when I faced racism in hockey, a lot of times from jealousy, because when I was young, I was always one of the better players. And I think a lot of people were threatened by that. People are still threatened by that today. I don’t ever judge somebody by what comes out of their mouth ’cause I don’t know what they’re thinking. Sometimes people might just say things just to see how you react about it. People might say things to you just to try to throw you off your game. Doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a racist.

Q: How about today? Do you hear anything from fans?

A: No, I haven’t heard anything like that in a long time. I operate from a place of like water on a duck’s back. When things are thrown at me or said to me that aren’t worth my time, they don’t register with me. Like it just rolls off my back. Listen, I always choose to see the good in people. And everybody’s different, everybody chooses to handle things differently. I hear that stuff and it’s upsetting and it’s stuff that we may not want to hear. … I look at it as like, “Well that guy probably had way too much to drink.” ’Cause I just don’t let it consume me. I don’t want it to consume me. The way I look at it is, I’ve worked too hard to reach this point in my career, I’m not gonna let that overshadow what I do on the ice.

Q: You didn’t shrug it off when you were younger.

A: I remember one time, I was like 6 or 7 years old, and a kid had said something to me, and I was crying, and my mom came in and said, “P.K., why are you crying?” I said because the kid called me this. She said, “So you’re gonna quit? You’re not gonna play because someone called you the N-word?” I was expecting my mom to coddle me and go hug me. She said, “No. if you want to play hockey, go play.”

Q: Describe your on-ice mentality.

A: I want to dominate at all times. I’m a blue-collar worker, I’m just like everybody else in the Newark area, in New York, that goes to work, that wants to earn everything that they get. I get paid a lot of money. There’s a responsibility that comes with that, and I don’t ever kind of shy away from that. I put it out there not in a way to be cocky or arrogant, it’s just more of I want people to hold me accountable for the commitment that the team, the franchise and the city’s made to me, and I want to make sure that I live up to that.

Q: What drives you?

A: People like Kobe, Michael Jordan. … What would they do in this situation? I can tell you one thing, they wouldn’t even be mentioning what happened last year or the years before. They’d be completely focused on that first game of the season, and ripping the doors off the hinges, and sending a message, not only to the city here but to the rest of the league. I don’t think that that’s what it’s about per se, but that’s gotta be a mentality, is that every night you go out there, this is a fresh opportunity, it’s rejuvenating. I remember when the trade happened, it just re-energized me because No. 1, I think that this is a first-class organization that knows how to win, No. 2 they got the players to win, No. 3 I believe they have the coaching to win. And I think with all of those things in place, and the woman that I have by my side, there’s no reason why I can’t have success here.

Q: You seem perfect for this market.

A: The simplest, most impactful question that you can ask an athlete, or ask anyone, is “What do you want to accomplish? What’s your goal?” What’s important for me? … I want to win a Stanley Cup. That takes a certain level of focus and commitment. But, I also want to give as many people I can the opportunity that I got. And I’m not just talking about the opportunity to play in the NHL … the opportunity to live a happy, successful, balanced life. There’s a lot of kids that don’t even have a chance to live a balanced lifestyle. Not have to worry about food or clothes or education, or being able to play sports. I’ve taken that responsibility on a long time ago, as in, it’s not good enough just to be the best player on the ice anymore. It’s not good enough just to hold your head high because you’re one of the highest-paid players in the NHL. It’s not good enough to be one of the most popular guys in the NHL or to have a social media following. What are you trying to accomplish?

Q: Why is this area perfect for you?

A: I’ve always been a guy that’s never been handed anything. I’ve never been handed the perfect city for me to play in. Montreal was a great city, but it wasn’t handed to me. I’ve never been handed a power-play job, I’ve never been handed a paycheck, I’ve never been handed anything. … Newark is a place that is gonna continue to grow as a community, grow as a city, and I think that this team can be a big part of that. And if they see me as someone that can play a major role in that, I’m all-in. So show me the way. You can’t just go in somewhere and start to dictate what we’re doing and how we’re doing things. Nobody likes that. You have to find out, resonate with them, understand the culture, get to know it, and then figure out where is the best place where you can authentically make an impact. That’s why I have the fans that I have, that’s why my foundation has done what it’s done, that’s why I have the respect that I have off the ice, is because everything we’ve done has been authentic. It hasn’t been for cameras, it hasn’t been for newspapers, it hasn’t been for TV, it’s been for the people. Not very many people in the U.S. know about my pledge to Montreal Children’s Hospital. It’s given me a tremendous amount of fulfillment because of the amount of people that we’ve helped. So authenticity’s very important to me.

Q: Anything else you want to mention?

A: My Blueline Buddies program. When we started that in Nashville, to me, that was just as impactful if not maybe more impactful than the 10 million dollar pledge I made in Montreal, because of the timing of it, because of what I saw — seeing police officers not only come to a game and take our free tickets, but to purchase tickets, stay in touch with these underprivileged youths, and take them to games, and continue to take ’em to games, continue to stay in touch. That’s what it’s about. That’s when we know we’re building bridges. … Listen, a big part of the reason why we’re free today is based on protesting, and people protesting their rights. But I think that we also have to understand when to build bridges and how to build those bridges, and how to teach and educate and develop a way of understanding what’s wrong from right. ’Cause sometimes there’s a gray area. That’s what the confusing thing is about the world today, there’s a lot of gray area. If we can get sports teams in New York, or get other teams around North America to get involved, it’s one of the easiest, most impactful programs that I think I’ve ever seen, but I’m super-excited that I started.

Q: You’ve always embraced the spotlight.

A: The one thing you have to understand about being under a microscope or being in the spotlight is like I said, you have a deeper understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish. Because, if it’s just to be in the spotlight, it fades away quickly. I didn’t come into the league as a first-round top draft pick or anything like that. The reason why I’m in this position right now is the way I play the game. Period. If I couldn’t play the game, no one would care.

Q: What kind of player are you right now?

A: A lot of people talk about skill and ability and all this stuff — I’m one of the hardest workers on the ice. I leave it all on the ice. Every time. People wonder why I have the energy I have, it’s because I know I’ll never be outworked. I’m not saying I can’t lose a game or I can’t lose a battle, but I’ll never lose a battle and I’ll never lose a game because somebody outworked me.

Q: What criticism have you found the most unfair or bothered you the most?

A: Anyone that knows me, my “care meter” for what people say in the media isn’t very high. In the past, people have sent me articles. You know what? People don’t even send me stuff anymore. Because they just know I don’t care. I think I stopped really reading stuff when I was like 18 or 19.

Q: Why?

A: Because I just didn’t care to please anybody. The only people I cared about were my teammates. You’ve never heard anybody in the media say that P.K. doesn’t work hard or P.K.’s not committed. When I punch the clock, I’m in, and I’m all-in. When people make comments about my character, it’s just a non-starter for me.

Q: Early in your career, why were some people complaining that you didn’t respect the game?

A: Celebrated maybe a little too much, protected my teammates a little too much, stood up for my teammates a little too much. I thought that was a part of the game. I’m not a millennial. I was born on the border of millennials. I’m an ’89 birth, so I was in the league with a lot of the old-school guys, too. I understand both sides of the spectrum. And I think that there’s parts of the game that should never change. I like the camaraderie amongst players, I like the respect. There needs to be order. There’s gotta be lines, there’s gotta be rules. I agree with all that stuff. But there’s certain things that I believe that if a player feels comfortable showing his personality, he should be able to do that.

Q: What was your celebration?

A: I got down on one knee, skated through the middle of the ice, and I pretended like I was shooting the lights out, because I scored an overtime winner. By the way, which was my first overtime-winning goal of my career in the NHL, the league that I dreamt about playing in, the league that I worked my butt off for, the league that I spent eight hours of hockey school from the age of 6 ’til I was 15 every day of my summer, eight weeks of my summer, practicing and working for. So I’m sorry, to a couple of players, if I hurt their feelings. I’m sorry to a couple of people if I hurt their feelings if I skated through the middle of the ice and celebrated. I’m sorry. But I’m not sorry.

Q: What is the biggest adversity you had to overcome?

A: I guess the way I look at it is adversity almost is like my friend now. Because I don’t look at it negatively. Doesn’t matter what it is. Doesn’t matter who it comes from. Like I only see it as a positive thing. Because I’ve gone through it so many times where I’ve made mistakes or I’ve made the wrong decisions and it’s propelled me into better places than I’ve ever seen before. I don’t even look at adversity as a bad thing, I embrace it. It [ticks] a lot of people off, it does, because a lot of people want to be upset about things, and I just choose not to get upset.

Q: Your glass is always half full.

A: Why wouldn’t it be? That’s a choice. I’ve always said I’ve gone to this place because I’ve told myself every day that I’m the best player in the world. There’s never been a day that I’ve ever doubted whether I could be the best player on the ice or not. And when you do that, you’re only gonna get the best out of yourself. I refuse to doubt myself. I refuse to doubt my ability, because I don’t care. I’m taking the shot (chuckle). Whether it’s going in or not, I’m taking the shot, like it’s gonna happen.

Q: Do you consider yourself an intimidator on the ice?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you intimidate?

A: Confidence.

Q: If your life was a movie, what scene should be in it?

A: I would say that a defining moment for me was when I was drafted into the OHL. I sat at the computer and waited 6¹/₂ hours before I saw my name go up, and I was clearly one of the top players in my age group. I went 105th overall, and I’ve never forgotten it, I never forgot that feeling of what it’s like. Even now sitting here talking about it makes me want to put everybody back on the ice and prove ’em again. And it’s not about me hating the people that didn’t pick me, hating the players that went ahead of me — no. Those are the tricks that I play on myself that motivate me every day. I want to have a purpose in my life. My purpose is to be the best hockey player I can be. To be the best person I can be. If that’s the case, you gotta find ways to push yourself.

Q: What is your best single hockey moment?

A: Being that close to winning the Cup [with Nashville in 2017 playoffs]. Because so many people work so hard, and don’t even get a taste of what it’s like to see it, to feel it … to feel what that moment feels like when you’re playing … and I was playing in that moment. I was four periods away from winning one. I was right there. So for me, that was the best. For a lot of guys it’s the worst. It would have been the worst maybe if I was 40 and I was retiring the next day. But the way I look at is that my book’s not finished, that was just another chapter in the book. I’m hoping to write a few more chapters in it, and hopefully winning a Stanley Cup is one of ’em.

Q: Worst hockey moment?

A: I was skating in warmup, no helmet on, I think it was my first or second year, and I lost an edge coming out of my zone, slid all the way to the other team’s dot, and then got up and skated back in my zone. It was so embarrassing.

Q: Describe winning the Norris Trophy in 2013.

A: I think I should have a few more (chuckle), but I’m very happy and fortunate to have had one. I’d love to win it again, but I also want to win a Stanley Cup. That’s the most important thing to me.

Q: Describe Devils first-overall draft pick Jack Hughes.

A: Stud. Absolute stud. He’s gonna be a premier player in this league for a long time.

Q: If you could have a breakaway against one goaltender in the history of the NHL, who would it be?

A: Dominic Hasek. I don’t say Martin Brodeur because I played against Marty. Dominic Hasek was just different.

Q: Boyhood idol?

A: Kobe Bryant. I was always pulling for the Lakers to win ’cause I just loved the way Kobe prepared. I don’t ever focus on games, I focus on the preparation, because I know that if I’m prepared, there’s nobody better than me on the ice. I’ve always made sure that I’ve never left a game or ended a season saying that I didn’t prepare myself.

Q: Who are other athletes in other sports you admire?

A: In today’s NBA, you’ve got the LeBron Jameses and the Kevin Durants and these types of athletes that have dominated that are great to watch, but I also love Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer. … I know we don’t hear a lot of males sometimes talk about females, but Serena Williams is one of my most special athletes that I love to watch because of what she’s done in the sport and how she’s dominated. I’m gonna marry one of the most dominant athletes of all time.

Q: Describe your fashion style.

A: I’m me, man. What you see is what you get. I think it’s a blend between fun, like cool, fashion forward, but also classy. I’m not one of those guys that wants to be looked at as a clown or doesn’t dress in a respectful way. I think that my style has just a little pizazz to it. Just a little edge to it. ’Cause I’m still that guy who believes in double Windsor, double-breasted suits, cuffs on the pants, clean shoes, that’s my script. But the suit just might come in a sharkskin blue, it’s not gonna come in a gray (laugh).

Q: Favorite places to shop?

A: Kith is my favorite store. What Goes Around Comes Around in SoHo is a vintage store. I got a leather jacket there from like 1960. I got a Louis Vuitton bag from like 1985. Obviously you have your John Varvatos, I could wear Ralph Lauren ’til the cows come home. And he also has a vintage store in SoHo.

Q: Favorite restaurants?

A: Bond Street sushi. La Esquina. Sant Ambroeus. Nello.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Oprah [Winfrey].

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “The Usual Suspects.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Denzel [Washington].

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Viola Davis.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: My mom’s chocolate chip pancakes. And then after that, everything Lindsey cooks (laugh).

Q: What would you want your legacy to be?

A: A winner, man. A winner.

Q:. What would you tell Devils fans about this team?

A: They got a really, really good hockey team here, a really good, young talented hockey team, and I’ve been in this league for a while now, I played with some great players, played on some pretty good teams, and the only thing I don’t want Devils fans to do is to take this team and the talent that they’re gonna be able to see every night for granted. I usually don’t say this a lot to fans, but it’s going to be worth the admission to watch this team play. Guys came in in shape, ready to compete and ready to push to be one of the top teams in the league.

Q: It’s good being you, it’s fun being you.

A: It’s fun to live. It’s not fun to die. There’s two types of people in this world: There’s people that live, and there’s people that are just dying every day. Which person do you want to be?