The New Jersey Devils have had some players fail to meet expectations in 2019-20 and P.K. Subban is one of them after a massive trade.
New Jersey Devils fans were on top of the world at the 2019 NHL Draft. They had the first overall pick for the second time in three years and they selected Jack Hughes with the first pick. Well, a bit more excitement followed on day two of the draft. They made a day two trade with the Nashville Predators to acquire star defenseman P.K. Subban. It was a trade that instantly made the Devils look like they were going to be a better team.
Well, they didn’t fare too well with Subban this season. He had a down year in his final year in Nashville, but injury had a lot to do with it. He was nominated for the Norris Trophy two years ago, however. His first season in New Jersey was a massive disappointment based on how good everyone expected Subban to be. His old self would have been the best defenseman this team had on their roster in over a decade but he didn’t fare that well at all.
He only had seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 68 games for New Jersey. He was a -21 and had a CorsiFor of 47.1 percent. Not only was he not awesome in the attacking zone, but he also wasn’t good defensively either. There could be a lot of reasons why but his first season in New Jersey wasn’t a very good one. That doesn’t mean that he can’t bounce back with them though. Fans, instead of turning on him, should be rooting for him to get back to form because when he is playing well he is an impactful player.
It could be because he was trying to do too much. He tried to force plays at a time that they weren’t there to be made. It could have to do with changing to a team that plays a completely different game. There could also be some issues with the fact that Taylor Hall was traded, the coach and GM were fired, and there wasn’t much stability in the lineups at all. Hopefully, whatever was keeping Subban from playing like himself will work itself out by the start of next year.
It isn’t fun giving Subban a grade like a D. He is a fun player to have on the team and has done so many great things in his career both on and off the ice. He is easy to cheer on for a lot of reasons, so we hope he starts to resemble his old self when Devils hockey returns.