Pucks and Pitchforks
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5 New Jersey Devils Players We’ve Lost Confidence In This Season

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 4: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils during warm ups prior to taking on the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center on October 4, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 4: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils during warm ups prior to taking on the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center on October 4, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
P.K. Subban – New Jersey Devils (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

P.K. Subban

The New Jersey Devils have major defensive issues, so they traded for P.K. Subban during the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s a former Norris Trophy winner that was one season removed from being voted one of the top-three defensemen in all of the NHL. However, the Nashville Predators needed salary cap room to sign Matt Duchene that offseason. The Devils only needed to give up Steve Santini, Jeremy Davies and a couple of 2nd-round picks to get him.

Subban brought immediate fanfare to New Jersey. They held a massive fan event to welcome him to the Garden State. He was given a Ric Flair-style robe while the team embraced his personality. It seemed like it was a perfect fit. Maybe the Devils could help Subban find his greatness. He was going to a team where he is the best defenseman without a doubt, something that wasn’t the case in Nashville.

We all know how it worked out. Subban looked like he was a step slow, the Devils struggled finding him the right partner, John Hynes kept changing that partner, and the fit was no longer what we hoped it was going to be. The defense was immediately one of the biggest problems on the team once again.

Subban is not a lost cause. We might think he’s older than he is, but he’s still just 31 years old. If he does things right, he could still be highly productive throughout the remainder of his contract (which has two years left). However, he needs to prove he can be a top defenseman right off the top of the season, whenever that begins again. He is eligible for a mulligan, but the confidence in Subban is low right now.

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