Damon Severson
The other right-handed defenseman that could become available this season is Damon Severson. This one would be a little harder to swallow for the Devils since he’s signed for one more season after this one at a very reasonable rate. Severson has been a player who’s been controversial amongst the fanbase for years. He should be celebrated as a great draft pick that easily lived up to the hype. However, he, like Subban, is prone to the on-ice mistake which makes people forget about all the good he brings to the table.
The reason the Devils might look to move Severson at the trade deadline is he has an insane amount of value. As we said, he has another year left on his contract that’s only paying him $4.16 million on the cap and just over $5 million in actual dollars.
Severson has a ton of value across the league. Also like Subban, he’s right-handed. He has the ability to step into a top-line role when it’s absolutely necessary. When considering second-line right-handed defensemen, there aren’t many players better than Severson. There are the outlier teams like Colorado who are just ridiculously stacked at the position, but Severson would upgrade that position for basically any other team.
Will the Devils make Severson available? He’s similar to Blake Coleman in that making him available now would severely increase his value. It’s rare that the Devils ever trade a player like Severson in the offseason, so it would be now or the hope would be never because if they trade him next season that means they are selling again.