NHL Trade Grade: Predators trade P.K. Subban to Devils
The Nashville Predators have shaken up their roster, trading star defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils for two prospects and two 2nd round picks.
The first night of the 2019 NHL Draft didn’t see any meaningful trades. However, the second day started with a huge boom. The Nashville Predators have traded star defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils in a move that should clear up significant cap space for them.
In return, the Predators are getting defenseman Steven Santini, prospect defenseman Jeremy Davies, a 2019 second-round pick, and a 2020 second-round pick. Subban has a $9 million cap hit and three years left on his deal. Meanwhile, Santini has a $1.416 million cap hit and has two years left.
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This is a huge trade with a lot of layers to do it. So let’s look at it from both sides.
Predators
Nashville got a very weak return here. But to be fair, it wasn’t a secret they wanted to clear cap space. Not only do they have to re-sign team captain Roman Josi to a significant long-term extension, but they’d also like to make a run at signing Matt Duchene. Getting Subban’s entire $9 million cap hit off the books is great for them.
Unfortunately, it also means they’re losing one of their best defensemen. Last season, Subban had 31 points in 63 regular season games. He added a goal and two assists in six postseason games. But before last year, Subban was among the best defensemen in the NHL.
As recently as the 2017-18 season, he was a Norris Trophy finalist. Subban is a top-notch puck mover, but the Predators have the defensive depth to potentially make up for his departure. Young defenseman Dante Fabbro will certainly be a part of the solution. But it’s never good to lose someone as good as Subban is for as little as the Devils gave up.
Santini is a controllable defenseman, but will likely be on the third pairing at best. Davies is an intriguing prospect, but certainly not the type of guy you’d like to get for someone as talented as Subban is. And, as always, the two draft picks are an unknown.
Grade: D+. Signing Duchene get this grade into the high C area. But in a vacuum, this is a terrible trade for the Predators.
Devils
This is a huge trade for the Devils. They’re taking on a bit of risk with Subban’s $9 million cap hit, especially after a bad year. But his resume is impressive enough that he’s worth gambling on. Subban immediately becomes one of the Devils’ top two defensemen. It’ll be interesting to see whether Damon Severson or Subban gets more minutes.
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The Devils lacked a defenseman like Subban. Severson is a pretty solid offensive defenseman, but he can’t bring what the 2012-13 Norris Trophy winner can to the table. This is a pretty strong statement for the Devils. They want to contend now after a disappointing 2017-18 season. This should help their chances of re-signing Taylor Hall, who can become a free agent after the 2019-20 season.
Grade: B+. Devils are assuming a bit of risk here, but they’re a team who needed to take that chance. Subban has the potential to be a difference maker. The Devils better hope last season was an outlier, because if it wasn’t, they could be in trouble. But even if Subban isn’t himself ever again, this is a cheap price to pay for him.