Day 1 of the NHL Draft didn’t feature much chaos, but there sure was a splash in the league in the minutes leading up to Day 2.
The Nashville Predators, a team that desperately needed to clear salary cap space, sent star defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils for Steve Santini, a prospect and two second-round picks, according to multiple reports.
Deal is Steve Santini, Jeremy Davis, 2nd round pick in this year’s draft (#34) and 2nd round pick in 2020 for PK Subban.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 22, 2019
To be clear, this is an absolute heist by the Devils.
Santini is a fine enough player that has 114 games of NHL experience, but very much is expendable. Jeremy Davis is a seventh-round pick from 2016 that has not yet played his first pro season, spending the last three years at Northeastern University.
Meanwhile, Subban, at age 30, remains a quality player that can provide offense while also bolstering a Devils blue line that allowed the sixth-most goals in the NHL last season.
New Jersey has missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons and was one of the worst teams in the league last campaign. That consistent failure has, however, allowed them to load up on prospects. And considering they were able to retain many while still bringing in Subban, who is signed through the next three seasons (per CapFriendly), things are looking a little brighter in Newark.
