Top-Line Defense
We told you earlier that the Rangers and Devils made major changes at the top of their defenses. The Rangers got rid of Kevin Shattenkirk and replaced him with Jacob Trouba. The Devils didn’t get rid of anyone (unless you count Steve Santini) and added P.K. Subban to the fold. The Sporting News literally ranks Subban and Trouba next to each other on list of best defensemen. To be honest, we don’t agree with most of this list, but the point is those on the outside think these players are extremely close.
Next to them will be Brady Skjei in New York and… probably Sami Vatanen in New Jersey? That is the one that makes the most sense, and it’s what head coach John Hynes went with in their first game. Sure, Vatanen is another right-handed defenseman, but it makes little to no sense to put him on the third line when he’s capable of so much more.
Subban has been the headline grabber all offseason. He’s been working out harder than ever. He got engaged to his Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn. Every Devils headline for about a month seemed like it included Subban in some way, and they were all positive.
Trouba is a really good player in his own right. He is capable of leading a line, but finding his ceiling is harder. We like Trouba as a player, but we think Subban is going to blow a lot of people out of the water.