Perhaps one of the most asked questions of the offseason has been answered - at least for a day or two.
On the ice together for the first time on Friday, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm skated as a defensive pair during drills, and the two could get their first look as a duo in game action when the Preds host the Lightning Saturday night.
"It's just one day of practice; they'll play some exhibition games together and we'll look at it, and take a look at it when Roman [Josi] comes back too," Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of the Subban-Ekholm pair. "I'm sure we'll be able to sort it out… but it's just practice. We'll see what it looks like in games."
If the two indeed find themselves together more often than not in the coming days and weeks, it's a match that both parties have no qualms about whatsoever.
"He's a world-class defenseman," Ekholm said of Subban. "He talks a lot out there, he can skate well, he can carry the puck himself, and I liked it. It's the first practice; I don't know if that's going to be the case, but if that's so, I definitely like it. I think he's one of the better defenseman in the League, so it's obviously pretty easy to play with him."
"He's a great player," Subban said of Ekholm. "He's mobile, he's big, he's got a good stick and he makes plays in all areas and all situations on the ice. It's great having a partner like that. I've had some great partners in the past, but he's definitely right up there with the best that I've played with… I'm not sure exactly what the partners are going to become in the regular season, but I'm happy to be playing with him, and I think that training camp is going to be used for us to get a feel for each other and build on that."