A Subban return still makes sense for the Devils

The 33-year-old veteran quietly had a solid year in 21-22 and would help round out the defense.

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By Alex Chauvancy (@AlexC_THW)

The New Jersey Devils strengthened their defensive depth when they signed Brendan Smith to a two-year deal on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old had a rebound season with the Carolina Hurricanes and was an effective third-pair defensive defenseman. 

Even after signing Smith, there's still an opening on the Devils' third defense pair. When speaking to the media yesterday, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said he was scouring the free-agent market for a defenseman. 

neal @nealmchale

Fitzgerald says he's still looking at the UFA D market.

In the same media availability, Fitzgerald also said the door was not shut on P.K. Subban returning to the Devils. When looking at the UFA defense market, there's not much left other than Subban, Calvin de Haan and Anton Stralman.

If Fitzgerald does not want to give up assets for a third-pair defenseman, another year of Subban could make plenty of sense for both sides. 

Subban still has something to offer

When the Devils acquired Subban in 2019, no one thought his tenure in New Jersey would go as poorly as it did. I'm not talking about Subban's play, though he did struggle when first acquired from the Nashville Predators. Rather, I'm talking about the team's lack of success; they haven't come close to sniffing the playoffs since trading for him. 

Even though Subban's first season (2019-20) in New Jersey went poorly, his game has improved since Lindy Ruff took over as head coach.

It also helps that the Devils' blue line has gotten better with the additions of Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton. That's allowed the Devils to reduce Subban's role and play him in a more favorable third-pair setting. 

That seemed to benefit him quite a bit in 2021-22, as Subban had his best season in New Jersey. He's far from prime Subban, but his underlying numbers were pretty good. He finished with a Corsi for percentage (CF%) of 50.51 percent and an expected goals percentage (xG%) of 52.34 percent at five-on-five.