Nash Daily: Ranking P.K. Subban’s NHL Cover, Is Fiala Elite?

Former Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban remains the only player in franchise history to appear on the cover of the EA Sports NHL video game when he did so for NHL ’19.

In a recent power ranking of the last 10 EA Sports NHL cover athletes, Bleacher Report‘s Joe Yerdon ranked Subban’s cover eighth, ahead of a pair of former division rivals in ex-Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews‘ 2016 cover and former St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko’s 2017 cover.

NHL 19 reveal with cover athlete P.K. Subban pic.twitter.com/8OXYbVyFcS

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) June 21, 2018

“It’s kind of wild P.K. Subban only made it to the cover of EA’s NHL series once and it was late in his career,” Yerdon wrote. “…His personality was enough to put him on the cover of just about anything. The guy was electric both on and off the ice. He played fast and could hammer it on shots as well.

“…When you want a player who’s exciting to watch and exciting to hear from off the ice and who embraces the spotlight, Subban is one of the few NHL stars to check all those boxes. If they weren’t able to get Sidney Crosby on there after winning another Stanley Cup, you go for someone who has the social media profile to hit everyone. Subban was (and still is) that guy.”

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was recently announced as this year’s cover athlete for NHL ’24, which ranked in fourth place, while Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid took the No. 1 slot with his 2018 cover.

Around the NHL and National Hockey Now

Boston Hockey Now: Jimmy Murphy discussed the positive side of signing a college prospect whose draft rights expire and decides to not sign with the team that drafted them. The Bruins took advantage of such a situation, signing Harvard center John Farinacci to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Farinacci was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes with the 76th overall selection in 2019. The Coyotes and Farinacci had failed to reach a deal by the August 15 deadline, so Farinacci was one of two dozen players who became free to shop the free agency market.  Nashville’s most memorable instance of this phenomenon occurred when another Harvard skater, Jimmy Vesey, opted for Manhattan over Nashville in 2016 when he joined the Rangers.  Nashville is not subject to suffer any similar fates this offseason.  

Carolina Hockey Now: The Bunch of Jerks are staying in Raleigh as the Hurricanes organization extend their lease for another 20 years.

Vegas Hockey Now: Mark Stone recently appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show”, revealing the toll the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup run had on his body. Stone scored a hat trick in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers with a fractured left hand.

LA Hockey Now: Is Kevin Fiala elite? Some would argue that Fiala continues to climb the ranks, but the NHL Network rankings don’t yet agree as they have the former Predators forward just missing out on the top 20.

Montreal Hockey Now: Re-acquiring Jeff Petry was never the long-term plan for Kent Hughes in Montreal as a bigger game plan appears to be in motion for the Habs, which utilizes their salary cap space.

NHL.com: Four-time Stanley Cup champion Bobby Baun passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at the age of 86. Baun won Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs during their glory days of 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. Baun was an imposing force with general manager Punch Imlach pushing his team to play on the edge. The legendary coach Scotty Bowman named the 1962-63 Leafs team one of the top four best teams in NHL history in Ken Dryden’s iconic book “Scotty.”