Devils swap John's with Blackhawks

The New Jersey Devils were busy with the attention that comes with drafting the first overall player and then swinging a trade for one of the league's better defenders, but Ray Shero also made a quiet deal among his big moves and the various chess moves of draft picks sliding up and down the board as well when the  Devils traded center John Quenneville to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for winger (and John) John Hayden.

The trade basically is your classic case of two teams trading players that had been disappointing first-round selections with hopes that a change of scenery and organization would help turn a career around in a low risk trade.
The 24-year-old Hayden was Chicago's third-round draft pick in 2013 from Yale and in parts of three seasons scored eight goals and fourteen assists with the Blackhawks with three of the goals and two assists coming last season in 54 games played.
Hayden isn't known as a strong skater and the Blackhawks apparently were looking for a better fit for what they are installing as a system, which is what I have been reading from the Blackhawks side of things.
Hayden is more of a grinder type that will challenge for a spot on the fourth line preferably, although the third line would be acceptable in a pinch, but not for a longer period of time and he's not afraid to drop the gloves on occasion either as shown here against Minnesota's Marcus Foligno.


As for Quenneville, he never seemed to find a groove in New Jersey after being drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft as the final first rounder of the Lou Lamoriello eta.
Quenneville played well in his three years in the AHL with the Devils affiliates in Albany and Binghamton in scoring 46 goals with a total of 119 points, but was unable to break through as a Devil scoring only two goals in 33 career games, one of those goals coming in last year's 19 game stint with the parent club.
Like Hayden, Quenneville hopes that changing things up a bit could help turn his career around.

I've said I don't have the knowledge of hockey draft prospects that I do of the other sports, so if you would like to check out the Devils newest arrivals via the draft in day two, All About The Jersey in our links area will give you a great deal of information on those selections.

Devils acquire P.K. Subban from Nashville!

You had a feeling that New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero had a potential deal or two with a cap-strapped team on ice somewhere to be taken out on the NHL Draft's second day, but I'm not sure that I saw one of this magnitude coming as the Devils acquired defenseman P.K. Subban from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Steve Santini, prospect Jeremy Davies, the Devils own second-round pick (they still have their acquired second rounders) and their second-round pick in the 2020 draft.

Now, before we get too excited, Subban didn't have a usual season of his standards in 2018-19 with nine goals and twenty-two assists along with a plus-five over 63 games, which would look very nice on last year's Devils squad, but was a drop in production.
Plus Subban is 30 years old, he'll become the highest paid Devil at nine million a year and he's signed for the next three seasons (or at least until a potential Taylor Hall contract would be signed), so you better hope that last season isn't the beginning of a sharp career decline, but...

IT'S P.K.FREAKING SUBBAN and for next to nothing!
It is a player that instantly becomes your top defenseman, allows Andy Greene to drop to either second pair anchor or team with Subban and at least take some of the pressure off a veteran blueliner if they pair them together.
Subban likely isn't a player in decline, just two years ago Subban notched a 16 goal and 45 assist line to finish third in the Norris trophy voting and it's because of his statistics over his career that a respectable stat line looks a bit out of place.
Subban's not a player that has historically had injuries that nag at him and after having some locker room problems in Montreal, was a model citizen with Nashville.

The cost of the two draft picks wasn't a huge hit as the Devils had multiple second rounders this draft and with multiple third rounders still in this draft, it would not surprise me at all to see Ray Shero try to trade one of those picks to get back into round two in 2020.
Steve Santini spent parts of four seasons with the Devils and never really broke out into being anything more than a depth defenseman at best and an AHL hired gun at worst.
Jeremy Davies might be the biggest loss of the trade as Davies signed with the Devils this spring after three seasons at Northeastern and had developed into an interesting prospect after New Jersey selected him in the seventh round in 2016.

The New Jersey Devils have just added an elite defenseman that can play large amounts of minutes, play on both the power play and penalty kills and isn't all that old at 30.
Even if Subban isn't what he once was and there is little indication that that may be so, this deal is incredible for its cost and for another reason as well- showing that this Devils franchise is committed to winning soon and not to a total rebuild.
Being able to show that commitment might go a long way in helping the Devils retain the services of one Taylor Hall next summer as Hall becomes eligible to test free agency.

The Devils made a minor trade today, but I stayed awake after work to hammer this one out, so that will have to wait until tonight to opine on that and any other Devils deals that may arise.

Devils Draft Jack Hughes

The New Jersey Devils walked to the podium with a franchise making decision to make and even though Ray Shero drug the anticipation out with an odd and rambling announcement that seemed like it took two hours, not two minutes, the Devils made the selection of American center Jack Hughes official.

Hughes had been the unanimous choice by observers as the best player in the draft before a late rush by Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko made what initially seemed to be a no-brainer selection into a far more difficult decision to make.
Hughes is not quite as big as one would like from a center (5'10 170 pounds), although I wouldn't say he is undersized as some have.
I'd say Hughes is more slight of build than small, which basically means that Hughes is smaller because he is 17 rather than describe him as a smaller player.
Hughes is the all-time scorer for the U.S. developmental team and his game has been compared to Patrick Kane and as a smaller Connor McDavid in the past, but the comparison that I've been hearing more of late is that of Steve Yzerman and that I'll take every day and all day!

Hughes has been noted as one of the more creative offensive players to come into the league in years and some of his highlights have been dazzling to watch with the sort of speed and skating ability that is rarely seen from a forward.
If Jack Hughes lives up to his clips and the ability that he seems to have, Hughes could be the type of player that the New Jersey Devils have never had in their existence.
That's not knocking some of the tremendous players that the Devils have had through the years, but the Devils have never had this type of player with creativity, yet has the ability to pass the puck and make his teammates better.
Jack Hughes could be the type of player that becomes the face of a franchise for a dozen years.


Did the Devils do the right thing in taking Jack Hughes over Kaapo Kaako?
Yes, for two reasons.
The hockey reason? If two players are close in talent and ability, you take the center over the winger.
The center will control the puck more and will have more of an impact over the course of a game than a winger will
The other reason? Marketability.
Yes, Hughes is an American and Kaako is not,  but that's not the only reason Hughes is more marketable.
Watch the Hughes interview at the draft with Kathryn Tappen and his media work after the selection- the guy has that "it" factor that comes up so often in these situations.
Hughes reminded me more than a little of Baker Mayfield minus Baker's chip on his shoulder, but I saw more than a few similarities with Mayfield and his charismatic attitude.
Hughes has been reported to be quite the leader on and off the ice with the U.S. national team and I can see why from seeing him speak.


I'm thrilled to have Jack Hughes with the Devils and that's not a knock on Kaapo Kaako, who I also think is going to be a terrific player and might help get the Devils-Rangers rivalry off the back burner a bit.
Jump on board as the New Jersey Devils have hopefully drafted themselves a franchise center!

Back later with a look at last night's Golden Boy card on DAZN with a controversial upset in the boxing challenge.

Devils Draft Night

Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images

The New Jersey Devils have the top choice in the draft for the second time in three years and once again have a difficult decision to make with the pick.

While the 2017 choice between Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick would see the player that is passed over (Patrick) go to one of the Devils rivals (Philadelphia), this choice is even more important to get right as the player that isn't selected will not only again go to a rival, it's a rival that is just miles away, shares the same market and if the choice is wrong, will haunt the franchise and its fans for years.
While Ray Shero and the Devils appear to have made the right decision thus far with Hischier over Patrick by a small edge, this one is even more important as the player passed over will become a New York Ranger.

Jack Hughes is the likely choice as a center and holding the all-time record for points for a member of the United States development team.
Kaapo Kakko of Finland is the bigger player and plays at right wing, which is the position that it is harder to find an elite player.
Kakko is considered to be more likely to make a difference immediately with experience from Finland's top league, while Hughes is considered to be a franchise type of player, although he may take longer to do so.



I don't claim to have the type of knowledge of the NHL draft prospects that I do of the other three sports, but I do know franchises and for as much as the Devils would claim this doesn't matter, they know that it does- If the Devils would pass over an American star like Jack Hughes and he proves to be a franchise-level star for the team across the river and beats them for a dozen years, Kaapo Kakko could be an excellent player, but unless he's Alex Ovechkin, the Devils would pay a huge price for that call.
Take Hughes and Kakko turns out to be the better player, considering all the factors available at the time, the fanbase would understand.
If you take Kakko and the above scenario happens even in the best case, they'll never forgive you for allowing their backyard rival to thrive with Hughes.
Hughes has to be the choice here for hockey reasons and others as well.

I'll be back tonight with some words on the likely choice of Jack Hughes or even the possible, but still surprising choice of Kaapo Kakko.

Sorry so short, but still have the boxing challenge before tonight's Golden Boy card on DAZN to finish up.