The New Jersey Devils now have some pretty good defenseman on their team, and if they all play to their strengths this can be a strong unit. With the new addition of P.K. Subban, expect another step in the right direction for Damon Severson.
The New Jersey Devils got a strong season out of Damon Severson despite not really having a good year as a team. He had a career year offensively with 11 goals and 28 assists. Those 39 points led all Devils defenseman last season and were good for fourth on the team only behind Kyle Palmieri, Nico Hischier, and Travis Zajac.
The Devils added P.K. Subban to the mix, who is no stranger to offensive production from the back end. He knows what it takes to create from the blue line and get the puck up to his forwards while being solid defensively. The addition of Subban should help propel Severson in his career.
Severson is going to see better matchups because of the fact that Subban is there. That could help him get better stats and be a better player at even strength for the Devils if Subban is having a banner year as well. The only thing that may suffer is his power-play time. Subban is going to be on the top unit while guys like Will Butcher, Sami Vatanen, and Ty Smith will likely see time along with Severson. Only three of his 11 goals came on the power play and nine of his 28 assists so it isn’t like less power-play time is going to affect him that much.
With additions like Nikita Gusev and Jack Hughes at the forward positions, there is also a much greater chance that the guys he is moving the puck to are going to be able to take advantage. Severson is a strong player and is sometimes a bit underrated. He can make a difference offensively and the addition of a star like Subban might really be able to help him.
Severson is entering his sixth season in the NHL. If he can clean up his game in his own end a bit and take advantage of the new opportunities that are going to be presented to him, he should be able to have a really strong season.