Who Will Be The Islanders' Sixth Defenseman Come Opening Night?

PK Subban

Entering his fourteenth season in the NHL, could we possibly see the former Norris Trophy crossing the state line into New York? Now a grizzled veteran, PK Subban is clearly not the explosive player he once was. Over the past three season he has seen a decline in output, but that does not mean he still can't bring value to the team.

The former Montreal Canadiens blue liner has a similar style of play to another former Hab in Romanov. Both are very physical defensemen with a cannon of a slap shot. With Dobson likely to quarterback the Isles first powerplay unit, there could be potential to see both Romanov and Subban along the point of the second unit. Subban could be of great influence to the Islanders' newly acquired 22-year-old defenseman.

The days of Subban playing 20-plus minutes a night are long gone, but, he is still very capable of contributing 15-plus minutes and he maintains a veteran presence in the locker room. He's wouldn't be the sexy addition that the fan base was hoping for, but he would likely only demand between $2-$3 million on a short-term contract as the Isles are pressed against the cap ceiling. For the majority of his career, he's played on the right side, but the veteran has been around long enough to play fewer minutes on his off side.