The New Jersey Devils have plenty of players who would represent them in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The famed defensive duo of Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer would both probably wear the Devils’ crest if that were such a thing. Martin Brodeur is the best Devils’ Hockey Hall of Famer. Alexander Mogilny and Patrik Elias should be Hall of Famers, but we’re losing hope in the voting committee.
This year, there are a few former Devils players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame. Former captain Andy Greene is on the ballot. Devils’ cancer survivor Brian Boyle is a Hall of Famer when it comes to inspirations on the ice.
However, the one player who has an actual shot at making it is former Norris-winning defenseman P.K. Subban. That distinction is important, but we’ll get there in a moment.
Subban is an interesting case when it comes to Devils lore. He came over in a blockbuster trade with the Nashville Predators, sending Steve Santini, Jeremy Davies, and two second-round picks the other way. It felt like a slam dunk deal, with the Devils gaining one of the most talented right-handed defensemen in hockey still in his prime.
Devils GM Ray Shero was the belle of the ball after the trade. He already drafted Jack Hughes number one overall at that year’s draft. Now, he had the biggest defenseman trade of the offseason.
There was one problem: that back injury Subban suffered in Nashville was a career changer. He was no longer a top-five defenseman in hockey. Heck, he wasn’t even a top defenseman on the Devils. He couldn’t clear Damon Severson, and that was a big reason why the 2019-20 Devils were such a failure.
P.K. Subban would represent the Devils at the Hockey Hall of Fame if he could
However, after the disaster of that season, Subban settled in nicely, and he very much enjoyed his time in New Jersey. Lindy Ruff was better at his usage than John Hynes, understanding where Subban was in his career and asking him to be that player instead of the number-one defenseman. Subban also did exactly what he was asked to do. If the coach needed him for 25 minutes, he ground his way through it. If they wanted him to play on the third line with a rookie, he was happy to do it.
Now, Subban is the Devils’ biggest cheerleader in national media. He is currently on the ESPN broadcasts with Mark Messier of all people, and he constantly touts Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and the rest of the Devils’ stars he used to call teammates.
Looking at Subban’s career, he clearly liked his time in New Jersey the most. It wasn’t nearly his most valuable as a hockey player, and what he did in New Jersey probably detracts from his Hall of Fame case rather than helps it, but if it were up to him, he might ask for the NJ crest to be placed on his Hall of Fame mount.
If course, that’s not how Hockey Hall of Fame inductees work. There is no team associated with the player, so this is just a hypothetical. Still, it’s interesting to think of an all-time great as a Devils Hall of Famer.
If it were up to a committee of some kind, Subban would be a Hall of Famer with the Montreal Canadiens. He was one of the best in the league in his time in Montreal, and he won that 2013 Norris Trophy.
Subban isn’t getting the hype for a Hall nomination like his former teammate, Carey Price. Many think the goaltender and former Hart Trophy winner will get inducted on the first time on the ballot. That’s not the case for Subban. He will have to wait, most likely.
But if he eventually gets snubbed from the Hall of Fame, he will just be the second player ever to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman and not make the Hall. Only Randy Carlyle has accomplished this. In fact, there is no defenseman eligible for the Hall of Fame and not in with a Norris outside Carlyle (who is no longer eligible under traditional means).
Subban deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, even though his Devils’ contributions are far from a deciding factor. Still, we think he’d represent New Jersey well.