Malcolm Subban
Malcolm-Jamaal Justin Subban is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who plays goaltender for HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga. Subban was selected by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League in the first round, 24th overall, of the 2012 NHL entry draft. He also previously played for the Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Belleville Bulls.
His older brother, P. K., is a now-retired Norris Trophy-winning defenceman. His younger brother, Jordan, is a former draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks.
Early life
Subban was born in Toronto, Ontario, to parents Karl and Maria. Karl starred in basketball at Lakehead University, becoming the team's fifth all-time leading scorer. Subban's brothers, P. K. and Jordan are also hockey players. P. K., the eldest, won the Norris Trophy in 2013 and played for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils. His younger brother, Jordan, was selected in the fourth round by the Vancouver Canucks during the 2013 NHL entry draft and currently plays for the Dornbirn Bulldogs of the Austrian Hockey League. His older sister, Nastassia, played basketball at York University, ending her university career as the all-time leading scorer in Ontario University Athletics. Subban began playing hockey at age 3 and played defence until age 12. After switching to goaltender, he began playing in the Midget AAA level Greater Toronto Hockey League. With the Mississauga Reps, he made it to Canada's 2010 National Midget AAA Championship, where he started the final. He allowed only three goals on 58 shots in a loss.Playing career
Amateur
Subban was selected in the 11th round of the 2009 Ontario Hockey League priority draft by the Belleville Bulls. He made his debut with the Bulls during the [2009β10 Ontario Hockey League|OHL season|2009β10 season], appearing in a single game with the club. He established himself in the 2010β11 season with the Bulls, appearing in 32 games and recording 10 wins. He was named to the OHL's 2010β11 All-Rookie Team. Heading into the 2011β12 OHL season, Subban was a highly ranked prospect for the National Hockey League 's 2012 entry draft, and finished the season as the number one ranked goaltender in North America. Subban returned to the Bulls for 2011β12, recording 29 wins in 46 games and was named the OHL's Goaltender of the Month for November. Due to the 2012β13 NHL lockout, Subban spent the season with Belleville, appearing in 46 games with a record of 29β11β4 and.923 save percentage. The Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference final, but were eliminated in seven games by the Barrie Colts. In total, Subban played in 17 playoff games. He was named to the OHL's 2012β13 Third All-Star Team.Professional
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins made Subban the 24th overall pick of the 2012 draft. He signed a three-year contract with the club on September 6, 2012. Subban attended his first NHL training camp with the Boston Bruins ahead of the 2013β14 season. In the preseason schedule, Subban had his first opportunity to face his defenceman brother P. K. on the Montreal Canadiens squad on September 16, 2013, in a preseason match between the teams at Montreal's Bell Centre β Malcolm replaced Bruins rookie goaltender Chad Johnson at about 14 minutes into the game's second period, and managed to stop every shot in the 31:49 he played in-net, en route to a 6β3 defeat of the Canadiens. He was cut shortly after appearing in a preseason game where he allowed eight goals to the Detroit Red Wings, and assigned to Boston's American Hockey League affiliate in Providence. In 33 games with Providence, he had a record of 15 wins, 10 losses and 5 overtime losses with a save percentage of.920 and one shutout. Providence made the 2014 Calder Cup playoffs, in which Subban appeared six times.He was assigned to Providence to start the 2014β15 season. During the 2014β15 Boston Bruins season, due to Boston's backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg needing conditioning with the team's AHL affiliate, Subban received his first NHL call-up to back up Tuukka Rask on January 30, 2015. He was the backup for Rask for four games, but did not appear, returning to Providence upon Svedberg's loan ending. On February 16, he was recalled again and on February 20, Subban made his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues. He was replaced by Rask in the second period after giving up three goals on six shots, but returned later in the game in a 5β1 loss. He appeared in 35 games with Providence with a 16β13β4 record with a save percentage of.921. Providence made the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs and Subban appeared in two playoff games.
Subban began the 2015β16 season with Providence. He played in 27 games in the AHL, with a record of 14-8-5 record and a.911 save percentage. On February 6, 2016, he was hospitalized after taking a puck to the throat during pre-game warmups. The organization announced Subban would miss at least eight weeks due to a fractured larynx. After his injury healed during the 2016 off-season, Subban was assigned to Providence. He was recalled by the Bruins on October 24 after injuries to Rask and backup Anton Khudobin. He appeared in one game for Boston, starting the game that night against the Minnesota Wild, where he surrendered three goals on 16 shots, but was replaced by his backup, Zane McIntyre in the second period in a 5β0 loss. He was returned to the AHL on October 29. His play for the Providence Bruins during the 2016β17 season resulted in an 11β14β1 record, with a 2.41 goals against average and a.917 save percentage. By the 2017 off-season, Subban, along with fellow Providence goaltender Zane McIntyre, were each re-signed by the Boston Bruins for two years, at $650,000 per year.
Vegas Golden Knights
He was placed on waivers on October 2, 2017, during the Bruins training camp after failing to beat Khudobin for the team's backup goaltender position. On October 3, Subban was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights. He made the Golden Knights out of training camp and was the backup goalie for team's inaugural game, a 2β1 victory over the Dallas Stars on October 7. He won his first NHL game in his Vegas debut on October 15. He carried a shutout against his former team, the Boston Bruins into the final minute of the game when a puck careened of one of his teammates to finish the game 3β1. Subban started in place of the injured Marc-AndrΓ© Fleury. On October 22, Subban was placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury. He had been injured the previous day in a game against the St. Louis Blues. On November 17, Subban was taken off injured reserve and was the backup for Maxime LagacΓ© in the following game against the Los Angeles Kings. The first time Subban played a regular season game against his brother P. K. was on December 8, where Subban made a then career-high 41 saves to help the Knights beat the Nashville Predators 4β3. In doing so, the Subban brothers became the tenth set of brothers to play against one another with one a skater and another a goaltender. Subban was again placed on injured reserve, this time with an upper body injury, after being injured during practice on February 10, 2018. He finished the season appearing in 22 games with a record of 13β4β2 and a save percentage of.910.In his second season with Vegas in 2018β19, he played in 21 games sporting a record of 8β10β2 with a save percentage of.902. He recorded his first NHL shutout in a 5β0 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on March 21, 2019. In the 2019 off-season, he filed for salary arbitration, but signed a one-year contract with Vegas before the hearing could take place. In the 2019β20 season, he appeared in 20 games for the Golden Knights, but his save percentage dropped to.890.
Chicago Blackhawks
On February 24, 2020, Subban, alongside Slava Demin and a 2020 second-round pick, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Robin Lehner and MΔrtiΕΕ‘ Dzierkals in a three-team trade also involving the Toronto Maple Leafs. Subban made his first and only appearance for the Blackhawks in 2020 on March 3, where he replaced Corey Crawford for 70 seconds during a 6β2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, before the NHL suspended the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12.In the following off-season, due to salary cap considerations, Subban was not tendered a qualifying offer by Blackhawks on October 8. He returned to the Blackhawks however, signing at a lower cap hit on a two-year, $1.7 million contract on October 10. He made his first start for the Blackhawks during the team's opening game of the 2020β21 season on January 14, 2021. He allowed five goals on 33 shots against the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to a 5β1 loss. On February 7, he netted his first win in a 2β1 victory over the Dallas Stars, stopping 30 of 31 shots. On February 25 he recorded his first shutout as a member of the Blackhawks in a 2β0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Entering his third season with the Blackhawks in 2021β22 and with the acquisition of starting goaltender Marc-AndrΓ© Fleury, Subban was placed on waivers and reassigned by Chicago to AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. With three goaltenders on the roster competing for ice time with the IceHogs, Subban featured in only five games, collecting two wins, through the opening two months of the season.
Buffalo Sabres
On December 2, 2021, Subban was traded by the Blackhawks to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for future considerations. He was acquired after regular goaltenders Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski were unavailable to injury and illness. He made his debut with the Sabres, allowing six goals on 25 shots before he was pulled in the third period of a 6β2 defeat by the Carolina Hurricanes on December 4. On January 12, 2022, Subban made a relief appearance against the Tampa Bay Lightning in place of the injured Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Subban collided with Lightning forward Patrick Maroon late in the second period. He played out the remainder of the contest despite the collision. It was later revealed Subban suffered an upper-body injury. He underwent surgery, and Sabres' head coach Don Granato speculated Subban would miss the remainder of the season. On April 29, while recovering from season-ending surgery, Subban sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" during a Sabres home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.In the 2022 off-season, he re-signed with the Sabres to a one-year, two-way contract on July 12. Due to another logjam of goaltenders in Buffalo's system, Subban again ended up in the AHL with the Sabres' affiliate Rochester Americans for the 2022β23 season. He became their starter and appeared in 39 games, with a record of 20β14β5 with a.903 save percentage. The Americans made the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference finals where they were defeated by the Hershey Bears. Subban appeared in 14 playoff games, posting a.914 save percentage, and registered the Americans first playoff shutout since 2014.
St. Louis Blues
On July 1, 2023, Subban as a free agent signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues for the season. He was assigned to the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, for the 2023β24 season. In 31 games with Springfield, he had a record of 11β14β4 and a save percentage of.907.Columbus Blue Jackets and AHL
On March 8, 2024, the Blues traded Subban to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for future considerations and immediately assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. He played in four games for Cleveland, with a record of 1β0β0 and a save percentage of.853. He was recalled by Columbus on an emergency basis on April 5 after Daniil Tarasov was injured. He made his Blue Jackets debut on April 7 and stopped 32 of 35 shots in a 3β0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Cleveland made the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs and Subban appeared in two games.As a free agent from the Blue Jackets, Subban remained un-signed over the summer. Approaching the 2024β25 season, Subban was signed to a professional tryout with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, primary affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings, on October 7, 2024. He was later released by the Griffins without playing for the club on October 26, 2024. On October 28, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Belleville Senators, primary affiliate of the NHL's Ottawa Senators. In 24 games with Belleville he had a record of 11β6β4, with a GAA of 3.13 and a save percentage of 0.883.