Hawks deal Hayden to Devils; Subban, Marleau trades overshadow 2nd day of NHL draft
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - On the second day of the NHL draft, the salary cap crashed the party.
P.K. Subban, Patrick Marleau and J.T. Miller were on the move Saturday as teams tried to get into position to bring back their own players or add to their roster during free agency. The trades started before Ottawa opened the second round with American center Shane Pinto at No. 32 overall, pushing the conclusion of the draft into the background.
A day after taking American center Jack Hughes at No. 1 overall, New Jersey acquired Subban in a trade with Nashville. The Predators picked up defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies, the 34th pick in this year's draft and a second-rounder next year.
The Blackhawks acquired forward John Quenneville from New Jersey in exchange for forward John Hayden. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Quenneville, drafted 30th overall by the Devils in 2014, has appeared in 33 NHL games and 138 AHL games. He scored 1 goal in 19 games for New Jersey in 2018-19.
Hayden, taken 74th overall by the Hawks in 2013, scored 3 goals in 54 games last season. Hayden was a healthy scratch in Games 68-78 before getting back into the lineup for the final four contests.
Subban was dealt from Nashville to New Jersey shortly before the Ottawa Senators opened the second round by selecting American center Shane Pinto. The Predators acquired defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies, the 34th pick in this year's draft and a second-rounder next year.
The Devils also headlined the opening round of the draft by selecting American center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 pick.
The 30-year-old Subban won the Norris Trophy in 2013 as the NHL's top defenseman. But he is coming off a season in which injuries limited him to nine goals and 22 assists in 63 games.
Toronto made a splash about an hour before the draft began by trading Marleau to Carolina to free up space under the salary cap. The Hurricanes acquired a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-round selection in next year's draft.
Pinto is from Franklin Square, New York, and his selection continued a trend in which 11 American players were chosen in the first round - one short of the record set in 2016 draft.
Toronto created $6.2 million in cap space by trading Marleau to Carolina. Aside from landing a 21-year veteran, the Hurricanes acquired a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-round selection in next year's draft.
Tampa Bay shed the remaining four years of Miller's $26.25 million contract by sending him to Vancouver. The Lightning received journeyman minor-league goalie Marek Mazanec and two draft picks in the deal, including a conditional 2020 first-round selection.
Teams across the NHL are preparing for a salary cap expected to come in between $81.5 and $82 million, lower than the initially projected $83 million figure. The league year begins with the start of free agency July 1.
The first round of the draft featured just one trade. Florida sent a second-round pick to Philadelphia to move up three spots to No. 11.
As uneventful as the trade market was on Friday, Philadelphia's Chuck Fletcher was among several general managers predicting things would pick up.
"I think we made the only trade, didn't we? Yeah, that's really unusual," Fletcher said. "But I think the fact the draft's so early, and there's still 10 days until the start of free agency ... my expectation is there'll still be some activity before July 1."
The 39-year-old Marleau is entering the final season of an $18.75 million, three-year contract that he signed in free agency. The Maple Leafs face a cap crunch in opening talks to re-sign forward Mitchell Marner, a restricted free agent after completing his three-year rookie contract.
The trade was made two days after Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said there was "a strong chance" Marleau would be back next season.
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said the lack of deals on Friday was an indication of a strong pool of top prospects.
"We've still got a ways to go, but the draft was so strong, I don't think people wanted to move their picks," Rutherford said.
Stars GM Jim Nill noted draft picks are also more valuable, because rookie contracts are capped over the first three years.
As for the draft, Pinto is from Franklin Square, New York, and his selection continued a trend in which 11 American players were chosen in the first round - one short of the record set in 2016.