New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Who Could Fall out of Favor Before Season’s End

Ray Shero and the Devils understood that they were not acquiring the Norris Trophy-caliber P.K. Subban from his days in Montreal when they acquired him last summer. Shero flipped defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies along with two second-round picks to the Nashville Predators for Subban’s services. However, the Devils were expecting him to be the anchor that the defense in New Jersey had been needing for years. Unfortunately, Subban has not lived up to even the lowest of expectations this year.

Like Wood, Subban has missed only one game this year. In a little over 1,030 minutes of time-on-ice, he is posting a CF% of 47.70 which would be a career-low by far. Even while dealing with injuries in Nashville last season (albeit on a much better team), he posted a CF% of over 53. There were murmurs all summer that Subban was on a decline and steadily losing his step, but not one that would be responsible for a drop-off as large as this. His offensive game has evaporated as well. Outside of a stretch of 14 games from Dec. 12 to Jan. 14 in which Subaan recorded 6 points, he has been quiet in the opposition’s end of the ice.

Nobody should fault Shero for making this move last summer. When Subban was on the market, the Devils were the only team willing to absorb his entire contract which carries an AAV of $9 million. They gave up pennies-on-the-dollar and had ample cap space to do so. Similar to the financial commitment that comes with Wood, Subban would be nearly impossible to move. He is on the books for $26 million in total salary for the next two seasons after 2019-2020. Even if the Devils ate the maximum of 50 percent of his contract in a trade, his AAV would still be $4.5 million. It will be interesting to see this summer if the organization views Subban as a mentor for the plethora of youth due to come into the Devils lineup the next few years, or if they actively try to unload some of his contract.