NHL Blockbuster: PK Subban, Shea Weber Trade Sweaters

It's an indisputable fact that hockey is played with pucks.

But that's not to say that balls don't enter into the equation.

Whatever the Nashville Predators are paying GM David Poile, it's not nearly enough.

And dude's just struck again:

Make no mistake: Weber is a born leader and one of the most feared blueliners in the game. He's been the face of the franchise in Smashville ever since he arrived.

The perennial All-Star has broken bones and boards with that cannon.

Virtually every team covets a game-changing defenseman who not only hits hard but shoots hard. Very few are out there.

But they're there.

Both Weber and Subban are triple-digit shooters. Both rung up 51 points last season:

• Weber ... 20 goals, 31 assists; -7 +/- with 27 PiM
• Subban ... 6 goals, 45 assists; 4 +/- with 75PiM

Weber's a load on the ice, whereas Subban has no problem playing on the edge.

What's interesting, then, is that both have been subject to trade rumors for some time. Wonderings about Weber go back to 2013, at least, and never stopped; Subban's no-trade clause kicks in on Fri 1 Jul.

• Weber's contract -- 14 years, $110million -- runs through 2020; dude's 31 right now.
• Subban's deal -- 8 years, $72million -- lasts through 2022; he's 27.

Poile figured he had 14 years to bide his time so the tail-end of Weber's tenure won't bite the team in the butt. Now, he's found a club in a similar position that was on a short deadline and clearly in panic mode.

Arguments are already being made that Subban has eclipsed Weber in overall performance.

They're sound.

From virtually every aspect -- including enraged Habs fans -- Poile's done it again.

Dude basically stole Filip Forsberg from Washington, and now, for all intents and purposes, he's gotten a Shea Weber from four years ago.