New Jersey Devils: Jakob Chychrun Injury Could Impact P.K. Subban Market
By Nick Villano
The Arizona Coyotes got bad news on Monday that defenseman Jakob Chychrun is going to be out 2-4 weeks with an injury. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not the worst news in the world. The New Jersey Devils have had worse injury luck this season, but the timing is what really hurts the Coyotes. Chychrun was a strong candidate to move at the NHL Trade Deadline for an intense package of picks and prospects. Now, that deal is likely going to wait until the offseason.
That takes a top defensive prospect off the board. That means teams are going to have to go to option B, option C, and option D. Josh Manson was just traded to the Colorado Avalanche, so he’s also off the table.
If Chychrun is off the board, then John Klingberg is the top defenseman on the market. He’s a giant name to get that could help a team in the playoffs. After him, the best options are Ben Chiarot and Mark Giordano. There are other options as well, but P.K. Subban has to be an intriguing option.
Subban is having a pretty good offensive season after two seasons where his numbers were down. Will he ever get in the Norris Trophy conversation again? Absolutely not. However, he still can provide a huge service to the right team. The Devils are getting what they can out of him now after misusing him for his first two years.
Subban is no longer the top minutes man, and he shouldn’t be. However, teams would love to have him for depth right now. He could be a great third-pairing defenseman and a good second-pairing defenseman in the perfect situation. There are teams who would love what he brings to the table beyond just name recognition.
The Devils made it clear that Subban is available and not returning when his $9 million per season contract ends at the end of the season. Subban has done a lot for the area as an ambassador, but the Devils feel like it’s time to move on.
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Chychrun and Manson are off the market which pushes Subban up the priority list for teams. This is good news for the Devils, as it sounds like the Devils haven’t had a lot of phone calls. This will likely get teams to consider Subban more. Will that mean he moved? There is the rumor that the Devils would buy him out. However, it makes the most sense to either trade Subban for something or keeps him until the end of the season. This helps the Devils find more suitors for Subban.