Subban, Marleau among the players traded on busy second day of NHL draft

The trade was just one of a bevy of swaps by GMs after a lot of chatter and not much movement over the previous 24 hours.

The Toronto Maple Leafs also got in on the action, dealing veteran winger Patrick Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Vancouver Canucks made some waves on their home turf inside Rogers Arena by getting forward J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nashville, Toronto and Tampa Bay each got a measure of salary cap relief in the trades.

The Subban deal, which saw the Devils give up two depth blue-liners and two second-round picks, marks the second time in three years the 2013 Norris Trophy winner has been traded. Nashville acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens for Shea Weber in the summer of 2016.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of P.K. Subban,” Shero said. “I love the fact he hasn’t won a Cup yet. He’s hungry for that and so are we.”

Shero said he doesn’t expect any issues with Subban and his big personality fitting into a locker room that includes star winger Taylor Hall, and now Hughes and fellow former No. 1 pick Nico Hischier.

“Personality is great,” said the GM. “If this was the NBA, everyone has personality. There’s nothing wrong with that. P.K. Subban is a great kid.

“I call personality, enthusiasm, I guess. And I like that … I think freshness is good.”

Subban’s contract carries an average annual value of US$9 million over the next three seasons. Predators GM David Poile — who has a stable of stud defencemen in Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis — said the move will help him to bolster his team’s forward group.

“There’s certain things that need to happen in a cap era,” Poile said. “Our team was trending in a way with our contracts that we need to make some decisions going forward.

“And that’s what we did.”

Nashville now has just over US$68 million committed to its roster next season. The salary cap ceiling, which was announced following the conclusion of the draft, will stand at $81.5 million in 2019-20.

“There’s a lot of teams that are under pressure cap-wise,” Shero said. “(The Predators) were one of them.”

The 30-year-old Subban posted a goodbye message on his Instagram, thanking the Predators’ fans, staff and his teammates.

“I’ll be in and out of Nashville and I’ll be thinking of you guys,” he said, before adding a message to supporters of his new team: “Are you ready for the Subbanator? ‘Cause I’m ready to go!”

Subban signed an eight-year, $72-million contract with Montreal in 2014. The agreement included a no-movement clause, but he was dealt to Nashville for fellow defenceman Shea Weber in the summer of 2016 before the stipulation kicked in.

The Predators chose not to honour the no-movement clause in Subban’s contract once he became their player.

Toronto, meanwhile, had been looking to get Marleau’s $6.25-million cap hit off the books as the club endeavours to re-sign Mitch Marner and fellow pending restricted free agent forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.

To get the Marleau trade done, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas had to include a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-round selection in 2020 in exchange for a sixth-rounder next year. If the first-round selection falls in the top-10, Toronto will instead send Carolina its 2021 first-rounder.

“Everyone here knows how we feel about Patty Marleau and what he’s done for our organization,” Dubas said. “We were doing all that we could to help him.”

Dubas said contract negotiations are close to a conclusion with Kapanen and Johnsson, but added a gulf remains between the Leafs and Marner’s camp on his compensation.

“We’ll just keep working on it,” Dubas said.

The Leafs now have roughly $61.5 million committed to 16 roster players next season.

Marleau, who had a no-movement clause and had to OK the move to Carolina, issued a statement via his wife Christina’s Twitter account moments after the trade was announced.

“It was an honour to play with the iconic Maple Leaf on my jersey,” wrote Marleau, who turns 40 in September. “There are so many incredible experiences we had while in Toronto.”

He also singled out a pair of young teammates — Marner and Auston Matthews — in the post.

“You will always have a spot at our dinner table and extra sticks in our hockey room,” Marleau said. “I’ll miss seeing you at the rink everyday. Never forget how good you guys are.”

The Canucks acquired Miller, who had 56 points in 2016-17 with the New York Rangers, from Tampa for goalie Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round draft pick and a 2020 conditional selection. If Vancouver misses the playoffs next season, the pick will become a 2021 first-rounder.

Miller, 26, is signed for four more seasons with a cap hit of $5.25 million. The deal gives Tampa about $18.2 million in space under the cap, with four RFA forwards, including Brayden Point, still needing new deals.

“He’s going to be a good fit for us,” Canucks GM Jim Benning said of Miller. “He’s a good skater, he can get in on the forecheck, he’s got enough size and strength (to) come up with pucks. He’s got good hands, smart.

“He’s a top-6 player for us.”

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With files from Gemma Karstens-Smith

Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Subban, Marleau among the players traded on busy second day of NHL draft

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