Photo : Bruce Bennett ( Getty Images )

Holy shit, a big-name hockey trade!

About 15 hours after the New Jersey Devils drafted American hockey wunderkind Jack Hughes with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft, the franchise added another athletic talent to the roster in the likely hopes of becoming a legitimate playoff contender again.




This past season, Subban scored nine goals and posted 31 points with the Predators. In the playoffs, he tallied one goal and three total points in Nashville’s first round matchup against Dallas. The Stars took that series in six games. During his three seasons with the Predators, Subban played all 82 games of the season just once (his second), playing 66 and 63 games in his first and third year, respectively.


The defenseman’s $9 million cap hit per season easily makes him the top-paid player on New Jersey as he enters the sixth year of an eight-year $72 million contract that he signed when he was in Montreal. The contract became the Predators’ responsibility in 2016 when he was traded from Montreal for Shea Weber.

This trade appears to fall in line with an earlier report from TSN’s Bob McKenzie that Subban’s name was floating around trade talks from Nashville in the hopes of clearing cap space for a big-name free agent or contract extension for Roman Josi. It’s not yet clear what Nashville intends to do with this newfound cap space, but what is clear is that New Jersey has received an immediate boost to its blue line for a relatively small cost and, if nothing else, will at least be a more interesting team than they were this past season.