The New Jersey Devils have been named as a possible destination for Nashville Predators defenseman PK Subban. If this is true, what would it cost the Devils to acquire his services?
The New Jersey Devils are desperate for a top-line defenseman and the Nashville Predators are desperate for cap space. Well, the Devils have a ton of cap space and the Predators have multiple top-line defensemen. This sounds like a match made in hockey heaven.
Last week, we spoke about the idea of why the Devils might trade for P.K. Subban. It seems to make sense on many fronts. It’s close enough to New York for whatever Lindsey Vonn is doing now. He gets to play on a team where the media won’t crush him, similar to what it once did to Taylor Hall. He gets to join a team on the upswing that has the first-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft.
Now that we’ve established it makes sense, let’s talk about what it will cost. Dan Rosen with NHL.com spoke about this, but the original cost was steep. He was talking about enticing the Predators with Ty Smith. Obviously, Subban is a top-flight defender, but Smith is NHL ready, looks like he could slot into the number one power play next season and will make less than $1 million next season. Meanwhile, Subban will make $9 million for the next three years. That’s actually not terrible for a player of his caliber, but trading your top prospect is too big a price to pay when you need young defenders.
Rosen went on to say the Devils could offer Damon Severson or Will Butcher in the deal. This one is actually more intriguing, specifically Butcher. Severson is on one of the best defenseman contracts in the league. We have no idea what contract Butcher is going to get.
Let’s say Butcher gets a deal that pays him $4 million per season. That means for an extra $5 million, you get one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
It would take more than just Butcher to get Subban, but how much more? Not a ton, right?
They will want one of the Devils three 2nd-round picks. It would be ironic if the Devils traded them their own pick back after the Brian Boyle trade. They’ll likely demand the Devils pick, which is close to the top of the round. They might need a little more than that.
It won’t cost a ton more, but they’d want some package of a prospect and an NHL ready forward. I can see the Devils trying to talk them into John Quenneville, who might actually be a really good fit in Nashville. The Preds will ask for Blake Coleman, but Ray Shero will laugh at the proposal.
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I could see the Devils adding Marian Studenic as part of the deal. With Jack Hughes coming into the fold, Studenic is more of a luxury at this point, although we shouldn’t just throw him away. They should try to get away with another prospect, but I could see most of them getting a big no from one side or the other.
So here’s the deal:
Devils get:
P.K. Subban
Predators get:
Will Butcher
34th overall pick
Marian Studenic
That gives the Devils Subban, Severson, Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, Ty Smith and some combination of Steve Santini, Mirco Mueller and Connor Carrick. Honestly, that’s a good defense. Imagine that?
I know his contract and past may scare some people, but his deal ends in 2022 before you have to pay Jack Hughes. As far as his reputation, when there’s smoke there’s usually fire, but it seems that this locker room is different. Those issues aren’t here, even with the losing.
The Devils should make this move. It gives the Devils the player they desperately need, and it gives the Predators cap space, a second-line defenseman, and a good prospect.