P.K. Subban was almost a Penguin.
Subban recently made an appearance on the 'ESPN On Ice' podcast where he discussed a number of topics, including what next season might look like, how he's been spending his offseason ... and how close he was to being drafted by the Penguins in 2007.
The final prospect rankings from Central Scouting heading into the 2007 draft had Subban ranked as the No. 102 ranked North American skater, but he was expected to be drafted higher, potentially even in the first round.
"I did have three teams that were interested in me: I believe it was Washington, Florida and Pittsburgh," Subban said.
The Capitals and Panthers both had top-10 picks (ultimately used on defensemen Karl Alzner and Keaton Ellerby respectively), so if Subban was to sneak into the first round, his best bet was probably going to be the Penguins at No. 20 overall.
Subban wasn't planning on attending Day 1 of the draft, but ended up making the drive from Toronto to Columbus since there was a chance that he'd be taken in the first round.
"I remember them saying that they wanted to see if I was willing to go to the draft," Subban said. "On the first day, there was a chance I was going to go to Pittsburgh at around 20th overall if the player that they wanted wasn't available. That player was Angelo Esposito, and they ended up selecting him. So any chance of being selected in the first round was pretty slim by then."
Esposito was highly-ranked heading into the draft. Central Scouting ranked Esposito the No. 8 North American skater.
Subban said that on Day 2, the Rangers head scout told him that they planned to select him when they picked, at No. 48. But when Montreal was on the clock at No. 43, they chose Subban instead.
Now 13 years later, Subban is preparing for his 12th NHL season, is a three-time Norris Trophy nominee, winning it in 2013. He's played in 713 regular season NHL games with the Canadiens, Predators, and now Devils.
Esposito never played in the NHL, and never played a game in the Penguins organization. The Penguins traded him to the Thrashers along with Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, and a first-round pick in exchange for star winger Marian Hossa and a throw-in by the name of Pascal Dupuis.
Esposito bounced around in the AHL for three seasons before moving to Europe, playing in the Finnish, Italian, and second-tier Czech leagues. He retired in the 2016-17 season and is now a real estate investor in Quebec. He ran for election to represent the Alfred-Pellan district in the House of Commons in Canada's parliament in 2019, and he finished in third place with 10.9 percent of the votes.