New Jersey Devils: Case For And Against Trading Each Defenseman

The Pros Of Trading P.K. Subban

It’s pretty obvious at this point that the P.K. Subban trade did not pay the dividends we thought it would, but are we already at the point where we are giving away the asset? The positives here are pretty obvious. They could unload at least some of his $9 million salary for the next two seasons. That gives the Devils the flexibility to go after another high-priced defenseman who needs a change of scenery.

Subban has been playing better, so we imagine his value has increased immensely since the beginning of the year. Also, being there’s only two years left on his deal instead of three, the assets the Devils get in return are better than if a team has to take on $27 million. If the Devils retain some of his salary and make him, say, a $6 million defenseman, a team might actually give up a decent prospect for him.

Honestly, trading Subban would allow the Devils to hit the reset button. They made the move to go all in, but it seems like the Devils went all in with an ace high, and there was a flush draw on the table. It probably wasn’t a bad move overall since Gusev is working out and Wayne Simmonds didn’t come with a lot of risk, but moving Subban could change the aspects of Ray Shero’s failed experiment.

The Cons Of Trading P.K. Subban

We’ve talked about this before. The Devils would look very bad if they started the season with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the addition of Subban, just to trade him less than a year later. They acted like he was the missing piece, and the second it doesn’t work out they move him to the first team that says yes. That’s a horrible look.

Also, Subban is not a bad defenseman. Is he worth $9 million this season? Nobody is arguing that. However, the Devils don’t have a better option to put on their top line. Say what you want about Sami Vatanen (and we will later), but he’s having a much better season because we feel like he’s in the correct role. Subban would look a lot better if he wasn’t on a line with Andy Greene, but to be honest there just isn’t a better option on the left side.

Let’s say the Devils actually get someone who could play top-line minutes on the left side well, then Subban would be able to play his role. He’s here to boom the puck towards the net and let the hammer on someone when necessary. He’s still capable of playing on the top when put in the right system, which could be on the way with a new coach.