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P.K. Subban says he's thought about playing for the hometown Maple Leafs

P.K. Subban won't lie: He's thought about what it'd be like to return to his hometown and play for the Maple Leafs.

By Travis Hughes
Claus Andersen

LeBron James went home. Kevin Durant has thought about it. Steven Stamkos once favorited a tweet about his potential return home, leading to lots and lots and lots of speculation about him playing for the Maple Leafs once he's a free agent in 2016.

It's now P.K. Subban's turn, apparently.

Subban, a native of Toronto, said in an interview with National Post that he's considered what it would be like to return home and play for the Leafs. As you know, he plays for the hated rival Montreal Canadiens -- the team he actually grew up rooting for, despite his Toronto roots --  and a move of the Habs star defenseman to Toronto would set the hockey world ablaze. Probably the streets of Montreal too.

Just the mere idea of it had people in both cities freaking out:

It really wasn't that a big deal, though, if you read the full quote from Subban: no guarantees, no bad words about his current team, etc.

4. Staying on the basketball theme: With LeBron James returning to Cleveland this summer, have you ever considered going home to play in Toronto?

PK: Um, I'd be wrong to say that I haven't thought about it. But one thing's for sure: Montreal's a great place to play. The start to a tremendous career - hopefully - has been great in Montreal, when you think that we've put together a team that's been in the playoffs in three out of four years. I've been a big part of it. I've had individual success as well as team success. You look at last year, what we accomplished. And really, just setting the stage for a legacy there that, possibly, some players will never have in any organization. So I look at that first. But definitely, to think that, at some point, you may have the opportunity to play in your hometown? Yeah, it's unique. But I'm not in a position to elaborate any more on that. All I can say is that I've heard a lot about it, I've thought about it - but I'm very happy where I am right now, and they've treated me so well."

Seems like the guy is just having the natural thoughts any player or fan has about the dream of playing a sport for your hometown team, but that surely won't stop this from becoming a story for years to come.

Subban is currently in the midst of a contract battle with the Habs, which of course will only fuel this talk even more. It came out that Subban demanded a hefty contract in arbitration -- $8.5 million over two years -- while the team demanded the minimum of $5.25 million for one year. This is just how the arbitration process works, though; it certainly doesn't mean that each side thinks either is the fair deal.

Rest assured: The two sides will come to some sort of an agreement, perhaps even before their scheduled arbitration hearing on August 1.

If they do get to the hearing, we'll see Subban in Montreal on a short, perhaps just one-year deal, which certainly won't silence the talk of a Toronto-bound P.K. But if they agree on a deal before arbitration, it could be a long-term one, which just might end any talk of Subban playing for the Leafs in the prolonged future.