Subban is already embracing the opportunity with enthusiastic posts on Instagram and Twitter, including one changing his Twitter profile picture to a photoshopped one of him dressed as the Devil.
"There's people following him everywhere," said Brodeur, now the Devils' executive vice president of business development. "It's going to be a real benefit to our organization, there's no doubt about that. It's going to put us a bit more in the limelight than maybe we were in the past few years."
Subban might have the biggest impact helping the Devils continue to grow the game in Newark and the surrounding area. They are partners, along with the NHL, with the Hockey in New Jersey program, which began with five players when Veltre helped found it as Hockey in Newark in 2003.
Now with additional clubs in Belleville, Englewood, Jersey City and Montclair, it has more than 1,100 players, including more than 500 in Newark. Veltre believes having a player like Subban on the Devils will encourage more players of color to take up the game.
"I think it makes a world of difference to have someone that looks like him and also someone who is an all-star and has been an all-star on a big stage," Veltre said. "... I think our kids can relate to him better than probably anybody who ever played in the NHL."