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New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban Will Help Forwards Grow

By Vincent Parise

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 13: Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban (76) is shown prior to Game Two of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, held on April 13, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 13: Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban (76) is shown prior to Game Two of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, held on April 13, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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It has been a really long time since the New Jersey Devils have had a defenseman as good as P.K. Subban, and most of the forwards on this team will greatly benefit.

The New Jersey Devils know that P.K. Subban is the best at his position that will dawn the red and black in a long time. Even in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when the Zach Parise/Ilya Kovalchuk Devils were perennial playoff contenders, they didn’t have a defenseman like Subban. None of the players on the current team know what it is like to play with a guy like that. Soon, they will find out how awesome it is.

He had a down year by his standards in 2018-19 with nine goals and 22 assists. It isn’t really that surprising though. With a blue line loaded with guys like Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis in addition to Subban, he is sharing his ice time with three other elite guys. It was the best blue line in the league and any one of those guys would be a number one on most teams. Subban’s ice time of 22:40 was well below his career average of 24:18, but in New Jersey, it should resemble the career average a little more.

A dynamic forward like Taylor Hall has put up insane offensive numbers over the years, and he has done it without a defenseman as gifted as Subban. Having a guy like that on the point for the top power-play unit will help out big time for a guy like Hall. He will also help out at even strength as he can make good breakout passes and zone exits to make sure the right forwards end up with the puck.

Players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Nikita Gusev, Jesper Bratt, and Kyle Palmieri are also sure to benefit from having a guy like Subban on the back end. With Damon Severson also in the mix, there is going to be a good offensive defenseman on the ice a lot with the Devils best offensive forwards. Every guy on defense slides into a better position with the addition of Subban, and it is nice to see.

It is realistic to expect 10-15 goals from Subban as he will get premier power play time. That fact should also allow him to make great plays both at even strength and the man advantage and accumulate lots of assists. 30-40 assists should be attainable for Subban so points in the 40-50 range would be realistic as well. He has had numbers like that all throughout his career. As recently as 2017-18, he was in contention for the Norris Trophy. That year saw him have 16 goals and 43 assists for 59 points.

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If injuries were an issue for Subban last year and he is healthy now, this could be great for the New Jersey Devils. They got him for relatively cheap coming off of a down year, and he is going to be a major piece to this team improving. All of the forwards and even his fellow blueliners are going to benefit from his arrival.

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