Devils land P.K. Subban from Predators in first blockbuster trade of 2019 NHL Draft
So much for a quiet 2019 NHL Draft on the trade front.
A day after the first round of this weekend's event came and went without anything close to a significant veteran swap, the Nashville Predators have shipped All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils.
First reported by TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the move comes the same week Subban's name was floated in the "trade-sphere," with TSN's Bob McKenzie suggesting the Predators were looking to clear salary cap space for either a pending free agent or Roman Josi contract extension. As reported by The Athletic's Corey Masisak, Subban's departure to New Jersey reads like exactly that -- a salary dump -- with the Devils sending Steven Santini, Jeremy Davies and two second-round draft picks to Nashville for the veteran blue-liner.
After the Devils announced the trade, Subban took to social media to thank the Nashville fans and organization, and also celebrate the trade with his dogs:
As part of the deal, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Devils will absorb all of the remainder of Subban's contract, which he inked with the Montreal Canadiens back in 2014 and will cost $9 million in each of the next three seasons. In return, however, they'll get one of the NHL's most established defensemen, who's totaled more than 50 points in four of his last six years.
A three-time All-Star and former Norris Trophy winner who spent the first seven years of his NHL career with the Canadiens, Subban isn't necessarily entering his prime at age 30, and he's played fewer than 70 games in three of his last four seasons. But he immediately upgrades New Jersey's blue line at the cost of two borderline NHL prospects and a pair of second-rounders, one of which comes in 2020, just two years after helping the Predators advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Also among the league's most colorful personalities, he was last traded in 2016, when Nashville acquired him in a swap for Shea Weber.
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