Should New Jersey Devils Try P.K. Subban At Forward?

The New Jersey Devils are trying something new on the power play, and it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It’s really weird to evaluate P.K. Subban‘s season this year. It’s his third in the Garden State, and it’s his second under head coach Lindy Ruff. He’s definitely been much better under Ruff than he was under John Hynes. However, it’s not like he’s been anywhere close to the defenseman from before.

His season has been surrounded by highlights and lowlights. There is no in-between for Subban this season. He’s made some terrible mistakes that have directly led to goals. However, he’s also made some absolutely spectacular plays that have also led directly to goals for his side.

It’s the second part of that which might make a position change the right way to go for Subban. It sounds crazy, but the Devils are already moving in a position towards that on the power play.

So, it was weird that the Devils decided to take Pavel Zacha, one of their best power play specialists, off any unit. One thing that is interesting is the position of Subban. He’s playing alongside Nico Hischier and Andreas Johnsson.

Who knows if the Devils will actually use this type of power play style in a game. It couldn’t be worse. That’s not the point here. Let’s talk about Subban’s changing ability.

For one, Subban is gaining a reputation for how he deals with board battles this season. He’s been tripping too many people, and that will lead to more penalties on the ice. His next slew foot transaction will likely lead to a suspension. If he plays forward, he won’t be in this situation as much. His board battles would come from a different position, and he wouldn’t have to focus as much on keeping his stance wide.

The most important part is Subban’s increased offensive ability this season. He has assists in each of the last three games. Overall, he has nine points in 16 games this season. The pass he made to Jimmy Vesey against the Tampa Bay Lightning was literal perfection.

He’s been really good at those 150-foot passes this season. The move to forward would probably hurt his ability to make these exact passes, but Subban has shown other aspects that would make him a good forward. He has been really good at zone entries this season. He’s been able to avoid turnovers in the offensive zone.

His shot is now his most deadly asset. It’s still very good from the point, but imagine if he got to stand at the one-timer position at 5v5. Wouldn’t that be the best way to use his asset? Plus, the Devils like a forward who could play two ways. They also need more forwards who are right-handed. Subban does take a right-handed forward off the defense, but we’ve seen Ty Smith play on the right side while in juniors. He could jump right in, or Colton White could play with Jonas Siegenthaler.

This seems like it’s worth at least an experiment. The Devils have already put down the framework in practice. If he’s good enough to try a forward-like position on the power play, what’s stopping them from testing Subban out at even strength?

Sure, this might feel like moving Reggie Bush to wide receiver in Madden. It’s a video game move, but hockey has done this in the past. Brent Burns moved from forward to defenseman and he became a superstar. Subban is already a star, but he needs to figure out what the rest of his career looks like. It’s worth it to try this experiment, even if it is for just one game.