With next to nothing happening in the hockey world, I've decided to take the plunge and write daily profiles for members of the New Jersey Devils.
I'll be commenting on the year each player just had as well as their projected role and expectations for 2019-20. I've written 17 thus far, with Nikita Gusev being the most recent player profiled.
Today we're taking a closer look at P.K. Subban.
Counting stats: 63 games played, 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists), 22:40 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 0.92 points/60, +3.98 CF% Rel, -7.57 GF% Rel, 0.63 xGF% Rel, 0.994 PDO
2018-19 review: It was a tough season for P.K. Subban. At least relative to his norms. He averaged .92 points/60 at 5v5, which was his lowest output since 2011-12. Subban also posted the worst relative GF% of his career while fighting injuries and missing more games than ever before.
With that said, he still put together a pretty solid year. The Predators were one of the top seeds in the Western Conference and they controlled a hair under 4% more of the shot attempts with Subban on the ice than without. While his GF% Rel was negative, he did still finish with a positive on-ice goal differential. His scoring rate dipped yet Damon Severson was the only Devils defender to average more points/60, and nobody came close to matching his volume in terms of shot attempts and shots on target.
Basically what I'm saying is an injury-plagued down year from P.K. Subban is still a good year for many.
Fun fact: Subban averaged more points/60 than Shayne Gostisbehere, Aaron Ekblad, Dustin Byfuglien, Keith Yandle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Drew Doughty, to name but a few.
2019-20 outlook: Subban is going to be used as the team's No. 1 defenseman and play big minutes in all situations. That's something he is excited about, which was evident in a sit down interview with Amanda Stein not long after the trade was made.
"I'm excited to also be in a position where I can feel comfortable being more of a go-to guy in all situations. It seems that was the message and I'm going to relish that opportunity." https://t.co/z7tDDmuYkd
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) July 25, 2019
I expect Subban to spend a lot of time against top competition at even-strength. I also expect him to be used as one of the primary shooters on a power play unit. Be it Taylor Hall, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt or Will Butcher, there are no shortage of plus-playmakers on the Devils. Whether he is on PP1 or PP2, Subban is going to have guys putting pucks on platters for him. There's no doubt his big shot will be put to use.
While Subban is no longer at the peak of his powers, he has averaged 50 points/82 games over the last three seasons and mostly posted strong on-ice numbers. At age 30, it's pretty clear there is still gas left in the tank.
I don't expect him to be in the running for the Norris again but, if healthy, he should still make a big impact this season.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent Posts best 1-2 punch in the Metro?