New Jersey Devils

Veteran defenseman P.K. Subban announced his retirement Tuesday after 13 years in the NHL:

Thank You! pic.twitter.com/rpyePEKvyG

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) September 20, 2022

Subban played his first seven seasons for the Montreal Canadiens before they traded him to the Nashville Predators. Nashville traded him to the New Jersey Devils prior to the 2019-20 season.

The three-time All-Star tallied just 59 points across three seasons with the Devils, while his 18:18 average time on ice in 2021-22 was the lowest of his career.

Subban won the 2012-13 James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenseman in the league with 38 points (27 assists and 11 goals) and a plus-12 mark in 42 games in a lockout-shortened season. He then tallied 40 or more points in five straight seasons from 2013 through 2018, surpassing 50 four times in that span.

He also reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 with the Predators.

The 33-year-old saw his production decline over the past three seasons, while the Devils were among the worst teams in the NHL during that stretch.

Subban still made valuable contributions off the ice, including as the co-chair of the Player Inclusion Committee.

Last June, he won the King Clancy Trophy honoring players who "best exemplify leadership qualities on and off the ice and have made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in their community."

His all-around contributions to the sport give Subban a memorable career that ends with 115 goals and 352 assists in 834 games.

New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban was announced Tuesday as the winner of the 2021-22 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

Subban beat out Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for the honor. He is the first Devils player to ever win the award.

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. @PKSubban1 spoke about what it means to win this award. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/mClxOZNVvf

— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2022

As the winner, Subban will receive a $25,000 donation from the NHL to a charity of his choice. Getzlaf and Nurse each get a $5,000 donation to a charity of their choices as runners-up.

Subban has been an advocate for racial and social justice throughout his hockey career and has also made financial contributions to numerous charities, most recently making donations for COVID-19 relief and to Ukrainian cancer patients.

The 33-year-old launched the P.K. Subban Foundation in 2014 during his fifth season with the Montreal Canadiens and promised $10 million over seven years to the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Subban also founded Blueline Buddies in 2016, his first season with the Nashville Predators. The program aims to improve the relationship between law enforcement and youth in their communities. He has continued the program in New Jersey.

Subban has spent the last three seasons of his career with the Devils. During the 2021-22 season, he tallied five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 77 games.

The Ontario native spent the first seven years of his career with the Canadiens before being traded to the Predators in the Shea Weber deal. He spent three years in Nashville before being traded to New Jersey.

Subban just completed the final year of his eight-year, $72 million contract and is set to be an unrestricted free agent. It's unclear if the Devils have plans to re-sign him this summer. 

New York Islanders team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello might have shocked the hockey world Monday morning when he unceremoniously fired coach Barry Trotz, but those who have followed his career will tell you the move was par for the course for the 79-year-old Hall of Fame executive.

Lamoriello is known as an iron-fisted, tight-lipped executive who views coaches as expendable. He fired Robbie Ftorek with eight games left in the regular season when the New Jersey Devils were leading the Eastern Conference standings.

Often compared to George Steinbrenner and sometimes called the "Baby Boss" by the local media, Lamoriello made 20 coaching moves during his tenure as the president and general manager of the Devils.

Trotz won the Jack Adams Award in 2019 and took the Islanders to back-to-back conference final/semifinal rounds in 2020 and 2021, losing to the eventual champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, both years.

Keep in mind that this was mostly accomplished with players acquired by former general manager Garth Snow.

But Lou is back to his old ways.

"This would be a tremendous understatement to say that it was an easy decision to make, but unfortunately, it's my role to make the best decisions for the organization going forward," Lamoriello said on a conference call shortly after announcing the decision. "I believe that this group of players needs a new voice."

As for what that new voice needs to sound like, Lamoriello isn't sure yet. He offered no specifics other than to say he was unhappy with the offensive production and that the decision was not made primarily on this season.

Lamoriello said he does not need to report to anyone except for owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin.

"Did I consult with anyone on this decision, the answer is no. Did I speak to players on this decision? No. I would never even consider thinking of anything like that," he said. "This decision is on the knowledge that I have, of the experiences I've had, and going forward, what I think and feel is best for this group to have success."

But here's where he got it wrong: While this kind of thinking might have worked in the 1990s and the early aughts in New Jersey, it doesn't work in 2022. This is a team devoid of a true star because Trotz's vaunted defensive system is the star.

Lamoriello's philosophy that players should play for the name on the front of the jersey and not on the back, regardless of the cameras, media outlets and social media platforms is quaint but outdated.

Another team is going to get a very good coach in Trotz. Let's take a look at where he could land.

---

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit seems like an obvious destination for Trotz, considering this is an up-and-coming team with high-end young talent that needs a coach to help them put it all together.

Jeff Blashill was recently fired after losing seasons in six of the last seven campaigns, though you could make the argument that he never really had a chance given how long this rebuild has taken.

However, you need to look at the general manager's history of coaching hires to try to connect the dots. Steve Yzerman has hired two head coaches as an executive, both in Tampa: Guy Boucher and Jon Cooper. Both were relatively young and relatively new to NHL coaching.

Boucher came to the NHL from the AHL and, as a rookie head coach, led the Lightning to the Eastern Conference Final. He bridged the gap for Cooper, who was the club's AHL coach. Cooper played lacrosse in college and was a practicing lawyer before moving into coaching.

Yzerman has an eye for coaching talent, so while this might seem like an obvious move on paper when you look at the hiring patterns, it suddenly doesn't feel like one anymore.

---

Philadelphia Flyers

General manager Chuck Fletcher is hanging on to his job by a thread. He hired coach Alain Vigneault prior to the 2019-20 season and fired him this season, replacing him with assistant coach Mike Yeo. The club recently announced that they are moving on from Yeo, though they would like to keep him in the organization.

The Flyers are in a weird spot. They dealt veteran captain Claude Giroux at the trade deadline a few months ago and have significant money committed to some veterans on the roster, with new deals kicking in for Joel Farabee and Rasmus Ristolainen next season.

The young players are struggling to develop, but that's not uncommon in a losing season.

The defensive structure was an Achilles' heel for Philadelphia last season, as the Flyers allowed the fourth-most shot attempts at five-on-five and the eighth-most scoring chances. Trotz's calling card is his defensive system.

Plus, the club has long struggled to develop goaltending talent. Bleeding chances like that would be a challenge for even the best goalies in the world, but a better defensive setup and Trotz's renowned goaltending coach Mitch Korn could help Carter Hart finally become a franchise backstop.

---

New Jersey Devils

General manager Tom Fitzgerald has made one NHL coaching hire since taking over for Ray Shero early in 2020, going with veteran Lindy Ruff.

He recently threw his support behind his head coach after yet another dismal season, but could the availability of Trotz change his mind? Fitzgerald has some familiarity with Trotz, having played for him in Nashville.

The Devils were mediore at best scoring goals last season, a problem further exacerbated by injuries, poor goaltending and a disastrous power play.

It's unclear whether the club is content with goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, but bringing in Trotz to fix the defense and Korn to aid in the goaltending (assuming they are still a package deal) could help the club finally take a step toward a return to prominence.

---

Vancouver Canucks

Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin have a June 1 deadline to decide whether to pick up Bruce Boudreau's option year. Boudreau replaced Travis Green for the final 57 games of the season, and the Canucks pushed for a playoff spot, but that might not be enough of a sample size to retain the affable Boudreau.

Rutherford seems on the fence, saying he might need to see how Boudreau does over a full season.

One thing to keep in mind here is that Boudreau was hired by owner Francesco Aquilini before he fired general manager Jim Benning and brought in Rutherford and Allvin. The former Pittsburgh Penguins front office duo might want to put their own stamp on the organization with their own coach.

---

Vegas Golden Knights

What will the Golden Knights do with Peter DeBoer after the club's failure to make the playoffs? Former Caps GM George McPhee is in Vegas as the president of hockey operations—Trotz and McPhee previously worked together in the Washington Capitals organization when Trotz was the AHL coach (Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates) in the 1990s.

DeBoer might be a very respected coach, but he has a reputation for wearing out his welcome. He hasn't been in Vegas for very long, but the decision-making group there has proved to be somewhat impulsive.

DeBoer's timing hasn't been great as he was in New Jersey during the start of their rebuild and in San Jose as the roster began to age. He took both of those teams to Stanley Cup Finals, but the difference is that Trotz won it all while DeBoer has yet to reach that peak.

The Golden Knights are in win-now mode with significant money committed to players 30 and over. Trotz is a win-now coach.

---

San Jose Sharks

Bob Boughner is in a similar spot to his predecessor in that his job status seems to be tenuous.

Longtime general manager Doug Wilson recently stepped down citing health issues and Sharks president Jonathan Becher and interim general manager Joe Will are conducting a search for his replacement.

A coach is rarely hired before a general manager, but stranger things have happened (see the above on Boudreau). It's more likely the Sharks will let a new GM conduct his own coaching search, but if Trotz is still available when a new executive is hired, then he could be an attractive option.

---

Winnipeg Jets

This feels like the most natural fit. Trotz is a Manitoba native, and he played and coached at the University of Manitoba, as well as with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

Former head coach Paul Maurice resigned earlier this season, and under interim coach Dave Lowry, the Jets failed to reach the postseason. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said Lowry can interview for the full-time job, but it sounds as though the club will move on from him.

This is a team in dire need of a reset. Maurice never could take the Jets deep into the postseason, and the roster is flawed. It seemed as though the message grew stale.

Trotz has long been lauded for understanding how to keep his message fresh. The 59-year-old is a proven winner, and as a proud Manitoban, he would bring some much-needed excitement back to the fanbase.

---

Where do the Islanders go next?

When Trotz left Washington, he was replaced by assistant coach Todd Reirden. The Islanders could choose to go in a similar direction with Lane Lambert, Trotz's longtime right-hand man. Lambert has long been viewed as an up-and-coming coach, and some have wondered why he doesn't already have a head-coaching job.

Lambert, as well as the rest of the staff, is still under contract with the club, but Lamoriello said the new coach will get the final say on personnel. Lambert should be an option, but his time with Trotz dates back a decade to the Nashville Predators. Reirden didn't quite have the history that Lambert has.

One name to keep an eye on is Mike Babcock. This would be questionable given the allegations of abuse toward players that emerged after Babcock was fired from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lamoriello worked with Babcock in Toronto, though, and he has gone back to the same coaching well on a few occasions (Jacques Lemaire, anyone?), so there is a familiarity.

NHL veteran P.K. Subban expressed his disappointment after learning his brother Jordan Subban was allegedly a target of racist taunts during a hockey game.

"I didn't sleep much," he told reporters Sunday. "Sheer disappointment. It's distasteful. There is no room for it in our game. I'm embarrassed because our game is better than this."

In an ECHL game between the Jacksonville Icemen and South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, a fight took place early in overtime. After the game, Jordan Subban, a Stingrays defenseman, tweeted about his fight with Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta:

More like @JPanetta12 was too much of a coward to fight me and as soon as I began to turn my back he started making monkey gestures at me so I punched him in the face multiple times and he turtled like the coward he is. There fixed it 👍🏾 https://t.co/JtPqpN9wwE

— Jordan Subban (@jordansubban) January 23, 2022

The Icemen have released Panetta, and he is indefinitely suspended by the ECHL, pending a hearing.

Stingrays team president Rob Concannon said the organization was "appalled by the incident."

P.K. Subban was named an ambassador for Hockey For All in October, an initiative created to promote diversity in hockey, and he has been in ad campaigns to foster inclusion in the sport:

Canada’s game should be for all Canadians. That’s why Scotiabank is on a mission to make hockey more diverse, more inclusive and more accessible for all. #HockeyforAll

— Scotiabank (@scotiabank) October 12, 2021

"I'd rather people focus on how we can change it and make it better so the next kid that looks like P.K. Subban or Jordan Subban doesn't have to go through this," he said Sunday.

He also said this wasn't a rare experience for Black players in hockey.

"What I think about is the great people and the great things in our game that I love," Subban said. "But the unfortunate thing isn't just the incident. The unfortunate thing is how many kids deal with this every day and it doesn't come to light. ... This is life for people who look like me who have gone through the game of hockey. And that's part of the history, whether we like it or not."

The 32-year-old three-time All-Star is in his third season with the New Jersey Devils and 13th overall in the NHL.