Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin was in Toronto on Saturday to meet with the agent for unsigned restricted free agent defenseman P.K. Subban.
Bergevin said on the first day of Canadiens training camp Sunday that he had a face-to-face meeting with Subban and agent Don Meehan and remained hopeful to have the defenseman signed and in camp as soon as possible.
"I went to Toronto yesterday to meet with Donnie and P.K. It was a face-to-face meeting," Bergevin said. "Two things I won't discuss in public are contract negotiations and trades. But the negotiations with P.K. have been respectful on both sides. I have a lot of respect for Donnie Meehan -- he's been doing this for 30 years. We're working on it and we hope to come to an agreement soon."
Subban is coming off his entry-level contract and has expressed his desire to play in Montreal, but said he's also looking for a deal he considers fair. Bergevin suggested the fairness of that contract is where the two parties don't agree.
"The last six months dealing with Donnie, it's been healthy, it's a good discussion," Bergevin said. "Obviously we have different views on this … but all I'll say is our goal is to sign P.K. I believe his goal is to play in Montreal, we just haven't agreed yet."
As teams around the NHL are looking to fill out their rosters over the course of a shortened training camp prior the start of the 2012-13 season, Bergevin quickly shot down a suggestion he may want to trade Subban if the two sides don't agree on a contract soon.
"My goal is to sign P.K. Subban," Bergevin said. "I'm not even thinking of trading P.K. I want him to be a part of the Montreal Canadiens. He's a young defenseman who is developing that we want to have here, and we will do everything possible to come to an agreement."
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