Subban: ‘Very, very hard to think about hockey’ right now

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New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban isn't necessarily in a rush to return to the ice anytime soon, understanding there's more at stake.

"Health is No. 1. Even though I miss the game, and I miss my teammates, and I miss my job, I want to see people healthy, I want to see people back to living a normal life," Subban said in a digital interview with CNBC.

"There's so many people out there that are suffering," he added. "It's very, very hard to think about hockey and the season right now until those people land on their feet."

Between his daily workouts with fiancee Lindsey Vonn and hosting the league's new digital show, "NHL Hat Trick Trivia," Subban has been keeping himself busy since the league halted play on March 12.

With the NHL pondering the issues around a potential return to action, Subban says he isn't a fan of some of the options put forth so far - namely, playing games without fans in attendance.

"I'm in favor of playing in front of fans. A big part of being a professional athlete is feeding off the energy of fans," Subban said. "We always talk about it, in sports entertainment, we have to entertain.

"We need people to want to pay to watch us play, we need people to want to turn on their TVs and care about what we do. If they don't care, where does the income come from? In my opinion, you need fans."

The NHL on Tuesday extended its league-wide self-quarantine period through April 30.

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