5 Achievable Season Milestones for New Jersey Devils Players

10 Goals: PK Subban

There’s no way to sugarcoat P.K. Subban’s epically disappointing first season with the New Jersey Devils. In 51 games, Subban only has six goals and 11 points, a far cry from the numbers that were expected of him. That isn’t even considering his mind-boggling $9 million AAV.

Assuming Subban plays the majority of these 30 remaining contests, he’ll only be on pace to score 9-10 goals. Subban finishing with double-digit goals would be subtly encouraging. Given how reputably goal-starved the New Jersey Devils are, seeing a defenseman score double-digit goals is a rarity, with just three reaching that threshold since 2013-2014.

For Subban, finishing 2019-2020 with at least 10 goals would also show a flash of his longtime ability to generate offense, which many doubt he still possesses. Over the 18 games since snapping his 21-game point drought, Subban has produced four goals and six points—.33 points per game. This is a notable uptick compared to his seasonal average of .21 points per game, so you can argue he has shown a modest degree of improvement as the season progressed.

Over the last five seasons, his points per game have been near or slightly higher than his seasonal average, however he has slowed down the two previous years. Subban will likely finish 2019-2020 with the lowest point totals of his career, but notching double-digit goals would show he’s made some headway at rediscovering his game, which could be a building point for him going into next season.