The public wasn't kind to the Montreal Canadiens' decision to trade defenseman P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber. But privately, the opinions of hockey people were split. If anything, they leaned toward favoring Montreal. They praised Weber's leadership and consistency. They said he's a guy you want playing in the biggest moments in the biggest games.

Some questioned whether the same could be said with absolute certainty for Subban, enough that you started to wonder how many actually liked the trade from a Nashville point of view.

That question faded when the results of our season preview poll started to return. We asked 13 NHL coaches and executives to list the top three blue lines in the NHL. The Predators were listed first on half of them.