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P.K. Subban

Snapshots: King Clancy, Smith, Somppi

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The NHL award being revealed on Tuesday was the King Clancy Trophy which is given annually “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community”.  It was announced that Devils defenseman P.K. Subban is this year’s winner.  He created the P.K. Subban Foundation in 2014 while playing with Montreal and pledged $10MM over seven years to Montreal Children’s Hospital.  Subban also founded Blueline Buddies in 2016 when he played for Nashville and earlier this year, he donated $1MM in support of Le Spot, a Montreal mental health clinic while also matching donations to help Ukrainian cancer patients.  It’s the fourth time that Subban has been a finalist for the award with this being his first win.  Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse were the other finalists.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Oilers goaltender Mike Smith met with reporters today (video link) and indicated that it’s “too early to tell” if he’s going to return next season. The 40-year-old had an up-and-down season and acknowledged that he played through injuries for most of the year but still managed to post a .915 SV% in 28 games during the regular season, a number that he came close to maintaining in the playoffs (.913).  Smith is signed for next season already with a $2.2MM cap hit but he is not subject to the 35-plus rule that many veterans are.  In the last CBA, a provision was put in that says the rule does not apply if the compensation in each year is uniform or if the salary increases each year.  The latter applies to Smith so Edmonton wouldn’t face a cap penalty if he opted to retire.
  • Pending Lightning RFA forward Otto Somppi has decided to head overseas for next season as Lukko of the Finnish Liiga announced that they’ve signed the 24-year-old to a one-year deal. Somppi has spent the last four seasons in Tampa Bay’s farm system but never received a recall to the NHL.  In 50 games this season with AHL Syracuse, he had 23 points.  Tampa Bay can retain Somppi’s NHL rights through 2025 by issuing him a qualifying offer next month.

Looking Ahead To P.K. Subban’s Impending Free Agency

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Despite relatively low fanfare, one of hockey’s biggest names is set to be become an unrestricted free agent this summer. New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban will become a UFA for the first time in his career, having just finished the final year of an eight-year, $72MM contract that carried a $9MM AAV. Subban signed that contract with the Montreal Canadiens prior to the start of the 2014-15 season, but would only play two of the eight years with Montreal before being dealt to the Nashville Predators. The star defenseman would spend three seasons in Nashville, making a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017, but was again traded to New Jersey in 2019.

A former Norris Trophy winner, Subban is no longer the player he was in Montreal and Nashville, trailing off in production the past few seasons. From 2012-13 (his Norris season) through 2017-18, Subban averaged 58 points per 82 games played, including a career-high of 60 in 2014-15. However, since the start of the 2018-19 season, Subban’s production has been cut, quite literally, in half, averaging just 29 points per 82 games played. Though Subban was never regarded as elite defensively, he’s also seen his struggles in his own end too in recent years. Most notably, during the same 2012-13 through 2017-18 stretch, the defenseman compiled a plus-43 rating in 422 games, which dropped to a near-opposite minus-40 in a far fewer 252 games.

Having just turned 33-years-old, and with the previous four years of regression, Subban is very unlikely to come anywhere close to his previous contract, but it’s not to say he won’t have interest this offseason or a shortage of places to play next season. The veteran has appeared to establish himself as a well-liked leader in an incredibly young Devils locker room and still possesses the big shot and physical ability that made him one of the elite defenders of the 2010’s. Subban could find himself as an important piece on a competitive team which can limit his exposure and utilize him in favorable matchups; perhaps a team that already has solid defensive depth, but is missing the offensive upside from the blueline that Subban does provide. One comparison to this end could be how the Edmonton Oilers have used Tyson Barrie, who posted two strong seasons after a rough 2019-20 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As mentioned, Subban is surely not going to find himself with a $9MM AAV this offseason, but he will have opportunities. What his next contract looks like is very much a mystery, however. One possibility could be to follow in the footsteps of defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Though Shattenkirk doesn’t have as impressive of a track record as Subban, he did find himself as a UFA after two down seasons with the New York Rangers, having been bought out after two years of a four-year, $26.6MM contract. The path Shattenkirk chose was to sign a one-year, $1.75MM contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2019-20 season, where he would rebound, admittedly not to his past standard, but enough to earn a three-year, $11.7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks the very next offseason.

Returning to Barrie, he utilized a very similar strategy, signing a one-year, $3.75MM deal for the 2020-21 season with Edmonton, rebounding and earning a three-year, $13.5MM extension with the Oilers. Perhaps Subban could sign a low-value deal in a well-suited role to rebuild his value in hopes of finding a favorable multi-year deal next offseason.

A multi-year deal this offseason at a (reasonably) higher salary isn’t necessarily off the table for Subban, however his options to combine this offer with an ability to compete for a Stanley Cup could be more limited. Considering the current flat-cap and Subban’s age and recent regression, competitive teams will have to budget carefully and taking on a player like Subban who could be considered a bit of a “project,” may not necessarily be a move a team like that would be keen on making.

If Subban does sign a multi-year contract this offseason, ones like Shattenkirk’s with Anaheim, Barrie’s extension with Edmonton, or even Jack Johnson’s five-year, $16.25MM contract that he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 2018-19 season, could be strong comparisons. It is worth noting though, that both Shattenkirk and Barrie played their one-year “rebuilding seasons” at age 29, and Johnson was 31 when he signed his long-term contract in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Subban turned 33 this week.

Regardless of how Subban pursues his first trip to unrestricted free agency, he should still have a market that offers him several options considering the skills and value he brings on and off the ice. With his previous status as an elite defenseman, his recent regression, and still being regarded as one of the game’s most marketable stars no matter his on-ice performance, his free agency is sure to be intriguing.

2022 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins: Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres: Jeff Skinner

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jack Roslovic

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Alex Nedeljkovic

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Cal Petersen

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

Nashville Predators: Luke Kunin

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Nick Holden

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Matt Nieto

Seattle Kraken: Jaden Schwartz

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Wayne Simmonds

Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat

Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty

Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey

Latest On P.K. Subban

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While the New Jersey Devils aren’t exactly true sellers, as we outlined in our Trade Deadline Primer last month, there is one name that appears to be on his way out. P.K. Subban met with Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald over the weekend according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, and was told that the team wouldn’t be extending him. That means as Fitzgerald put it, “if the move makes sense for the New Jersey Devils…I have to do what’s best for the organization.”

Subban of course comes with a huge $9MM cap hit, meaning that it would need to be a perfect fit and would likely require the Devils to retain 50 percent. But with the number of depth options that are moved at the deadline each year that don’t possess anywhere near Subban’s upside, it does seem like some teams will at least inquire about the veteran defenseman.

There’s no doubt that a 32-year-old Subban is a shadow of the player that won the Norris Trophy in 2013 and was a finalist two other times, most recently in 2018. He is averaging fewer than 20 minutes a night for the first time in his entire career and still provides risky, inconsistent play in his own end. He does have 18 points in 53 games though–none of which have come on the powerplay–and can contribute offensively when put in the right situations.

Not to be overlooked is the simple fact that Subban is right-handed, a trait that seems to be in higher demand at the NHL trade deadline than at any other time in history. There are simply not very many NHL-level right-handed defensemen available at any given time, and contenders are always looking to add an extra one for a potential long playoff run.

For his own part, Subban does have a long successful history in the NHL postseason. He’s suited up in 96 playoff games during his career and has 18 goals and 62 points in those contests. That includes a run to the finals with the Nashville Predators in 2017 and several other lengthy runs, usually logging more than 25 minutes a night. That’s not the role he would play on any acquiring team, but the experience is still valuable as the games get tighter.

An unrestricted free agent in the summer, it’s unclear what the future holds for Subban. It won’t be in New Jersey though, something that seemed obvious when the team went out and signed Dougie Hamilton to a massive seven-year, $63MM contract last offseason. With Damon Severson still in place on the right side for at least one more year (unless he too is dealt at some point) and more youth coming through the pipeline, Subban will have to find somewhere else to play next season; he’ll potentially get a sneak peek at a new market in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images`

Jacob Panetta Suspended Rest Of ECHL Season, Released By Jacksonville

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Jan 27: Panetta has been suspended for the remainder of the ECHL season, which amounts to 38 games. Commissioner Ryan Crelin released the following statement:

Insensitive actions and gestures, regardless of intent, cannot be tolerated in our game. We all need to learn and grow from this incident, and remain steadfast to further educating and advancing our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our league.

Panetta will have a conditional opportunity to apply for reduction of the suspension and reinstatement after March 17, 2022, pending successful completion of a learning experience conducted in conjunction with the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee.

Jan 23: The ECHL has announced an indefinite suspension for Jacksonville Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta in response to racist gestures made toward South Carolina Stingrays counterpart Jordan Subban on Saturday. The final determination of Panetta’s suspension will be made following a hearing in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Panetta will find it hard to defend his racist actions in last night’s game, which were clearly caught on camera during overtime of the ECHL contest. The video was then shared all over the internet, most notably by the eldest Subban, NHL star P.K. Subban. 

The AHL just recently suspended San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik for 30 games for racist actions, though it took more than a week to make that decision. The ECHL wasted no time in taking Panetta off the ice.

Panetta is in his second pro season, both with Jacksonville, after four years at Colgate University. Subban is a former NHL prospect, drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the fourth round of the 2013 Draft. He last played on an NHL contract in 2018-19 and is in his first season playing primarily in the ECHL.

The Jacksonville Icemen, after initially stating this morning that the team would wait to take any action until a league review had concluded, announced they’ve released Panetta. Team CEO Andy Kaufmann, in the statement, pledged to “continue [their] mission of sharing our love of community and hockey.”

Why The 2022 Trade Deadline Could Be A Seller’s Market

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The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is not exactly imminent. The delayed March 21 date this season is 11 weeks away and a lot can change in that amount of time. However, the end of the holiday trade freeze is the unofficial start to trade season leading up to the deadline. In the first few months of the season there have been ten trades completed, but outside of the Jack Eichel deal there have been very few moves of any substance. That may not change any time soon either.

An active trade deadline requires there to be identifiable buyers and sellers and they must be willing and able to deal. Buyers should not be an issue this season; the eight teams currently in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference may be locked in, as nearly 100 percentage points separate the eighth and ninth team in the conference standings, while the Western Conference includes 13 teams with .500+ records. Therein begins the sellers problem though. Only three teams out west look like potential sellers right now, while there could be more teams willing to sell in the east but many are in a rebuild and don’t have much to offer, while others are merely lacking impact rentals. There are also a number of fringe teams that probably should be sellers, but are close enough to a playoff berth that would mean so much to their players and fan base that they may hold out.

The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek notes another wrinkle that could limit sellers: five teams are currently operating with an interim GM. The Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks have hired new heads of their respective front offices in Jeff Gorton and Jim Rutherford, but neither has in turn hired his GM yet and seem unlikely to make major moves independently. This could take Gorton’s Canadiens, one of the most obvious sellers on paper, off the market. Rutherford’s Canucks hope to be in the playoff race, but he has already vowed that the team will either sell or stand pat this season and the longer it takes to hire a GM, the more likely it will be the latter. The Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and San Jose Sharks are all operating with temporary GMs, all of whom have limited experience. Chicago and Anaheim fired their most recent GMs and have internal replacements for the time being, while San Jose GM Doug Wilson is currently away from the team for medical reasons. As Duhatschek points out, the likes of Kyle Davidson, Jeff Solomon, and Joe Will are not only new to the GM position, but lack the relationships around the league to make impact moves. So while the Blackhawks look like bona fide sellers and the Sharks and possibly the Ducks could get to that point, will they actually be willing to make trades?

The Seattle Kraken also fall into a category all their own. The NHL’s newest team was just put together in its entirety this off-season. Although they struggled mightily all season and do possess a number of expiring contracts, it remains to be seen if GM Ron Francis is ready to blow it up.

On top of all of this, the rental market among potential sellers is not strong. Of the top 20 impending UFA’s in per-game scoring this season, zero are on teams with sub-.500 records and just three are on teams not currently in a playoff spot. Expand that to the top 50, and only ten players are on sub-.500 teams: Phil Kessel, Travis Boyd, and Johan Larsson for Arizona, Vinnie Hinostroza for Buffalo, Chris Wideman for Montreal, P.K. Subban for New Jersey, Tyler Ennis for Ottawa, and Calle Jarnkrok, Colin Blackwell, and Mark Giordano for Seattle. Even if valuable defensemen like Ben Chiarot and Colin Miller or even a future Hall of Fame goaltender like Marc-Andre Fleury are considered, it’s not exactly an inspiring list for teams adding at the deadline. More importantly, it’s a short list for a potentially large group of buyers.

For those teams looking to make a meaningful trade this season, the conundrum is when to make a move. On one hand, with a small group of exciting targets it may be beneficial to make a trade early and possibly avoid the high prices of deadline bidding wars. On the other hand, the pool of sellers could also expand closer to the deadline and prices could drop if there is a flood of supply to meet the demand. Until that happens though – if it even does – there will be few moves to make early on and quite possibly right up to the deadline. Serious contenders should be prepared to pay up or sit tight this season.

Devils Remove Five From COVID Protocol, Add Two Others

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Dec 29: Jimmy Vesey has joined Tatar and Gillies in the protocol. The Devils have recalled Jesper Boqvist and Marian Studenic from the taxi squad to fill the empty roster spots.

Dec 26: The Devils got some good news and bad news on the COVID front as they returned from the holiday break.  The team announced that winger Tomas Tatar and goaltender Jon Gillies have been placed in protocols but they were able to activate centers Nico Hischier and Jesper Boqvist plus defensemen Ryan Graves, P.K. Subban, and Christian Jaros from the COVID list.  Tatar and Gillies will be out for the next ten days.

Tatar is in his first season with New Jersey after signing a two-year deal with them in the offseason and is off to a quiet start offensively with just six goals in 30 games although his possession stats are once again well above the league average which was also the case when he played with Montreal previously.  Meanwhile, Gillies was just acquired from St. Louis to give them another option between the pipes with both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier injured.  Fortunately for the Devils, Blackwood has returned to practice and should be ready to play soon.

As for those returning, Hischier sits second on the Devils in assists with 13 in 25 games although his three goals are underwhelming for the 2017 first-overall pick.  Boqvist has been up and down with the team this season and has suited up in eight NHL contests so far.  They’ll get a nice boost on their back end with the returns of Graves and Subban who sit third and fifth respectively in ATOI among New Jersey blueliners while Jaros has had a very limited reserve role.

New Jersey is set to play against Buffalo on Wednesday in their first game back from the break barring any further changes or postponements.

Devils Place P.K. Subban In COVID Protocol, MacKenzie Blackwood Injured

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The bad news just keeps on coming for the Devils.  The team made a pair of announcements, revealing that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is dealing with a neck injury and will not be accompanying the team to Detroit for their game tonight while defenseman P.K. Subban has been placed in COVID protocol.

The Devils haven’t had a lot of good luck on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending.  When they were healthy, they wound up losing Scott Wedgewood on waivers to Arizona last month.  Earlier this month, Jonathan Bernier suffered a hip injury, one that could be a longer-term issue.  First-year pros Nico Daws and Akira Schmid have both seen action (Schmid’s coming this week) and New Jersey recently acquired Jon Gillies from the Blues, a player that had just signed an NHL contract days earlier.  Now, Blackwood’s absence – one that carries a day-to-day designation – means that Schmid and Gillies will serve as their tandem for the time being.

As for Subban, he is now the fifth Devil to enter COVID protocol, joining blueliners Ryan Graves and Christian Jaros plus forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Boqvist.  Subban had been held out of their game against Vegas on Thursday for precautionary measures but that won’t count as time spent in protocol; he will still need to miss at least ten days unless follow-up testing reveals a false positive.

No Supplemental Discipline For P.K. Subban, Marcus Foligno

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Despite considerable media attention paid to both situations, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban and Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno will not receive any discipline from recent altercations. The NHL Department of Player Safety has reviewed each scenario and determined that neither rises to the level of a suspension or fine.

In the case of Foligno, this appears to be a perfectly appropriate decision. The incident in question occurred on Saturday night as the Wild took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just as Foligno had jumped off for a change, a scrum ensued right in front of the Minnesota bench. Foligno got back on the ice to engage with the Leafs’ Wayne Simmonds. Typically, leaving the bench in this scenario would be a an automatic ten-game suspension, one of the NHL’s most harsh penalties. However, as The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, the league did not consider this to be a case of Foligno leaving the bench, as no one had yet replaced him on the ice. Kirill Kaprizov was supposed to sub in for Foligno, but given the budding altercation in front of him smartly stayed put, which allowed Foligno, who was still straddling the boards, to legally get back on the ice. The Wild just narrowly avoided losing one of their veteran leaders for an extended period of time.

As for Subban, the lack of retribution from the league continues to be a strange phenomenon. Subban appeared to slew foot the Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers on Friday night, though it was not called on the ice. The general understanding in this scenario is that the incident does not meet the league’s textbook definition of “slew foot”. Call what you will, but this shockingly marks his fourth dangerous trip this season. Yet, the veteran defenseman had not received any punishment and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that this will continue with this latest incident. It remains a mystery how Subban continues to get off scot-free with obvious slew foots, especially when the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand recently received a three-game suspension for a slew foot that received no attention from the officials nor the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Seravalli states that extra attention is being paid by the league to both Subban and slew foots, yet it made no difference yet again.

P.K. Subban Fined $15,000 For Tripping

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1:55pm: It appears as though Subban has avoided suspension once again. The DoPS has issued a $15,000 fine for tripping, the maximum allowable under the CBA for this additional incident.

12:15pm: At least twice already this season, P.K. Subban has been involved in tripping incidents that had fans clamoring for a suspension. The first was in the preseason, when Subban appeared to slew foot New York Rangers forward Ryan Reaves, causing an injury. The second came in the regular season against the Calgary Flames’ Milan Lucic, which earned Subban a maximum fine.

Now, Subban appears to be receiving a more serious penalty. The Department of Player Safety has announced that the New Jersey Devils defenseman will have a hearing today for tripping Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. It is not clear exactly when the trip happened in last night’s game, but Subban was not given any penalties in his nearly 22 minutes of action. Corey Masisak of The Athletic believes it was a collision early in the first period, in which Subban again appears to slew foot a player in the corner.

At the time of his fine, Subban’s coach Lindy Ruff explained that it was “not acceptable” and that the team wouldn’t put up with it. Given that a hearing is taking place, it appears as though the league won’t put up with it any longer either.

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