Confirmed with Link: Devils re-sign Erik Haula (3 yrs, $9.4 million total)

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

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[NjDevsRR]

THE STRAW​

 

[MasterofGrond]

For what it's worth, the Athletic model had him worth 5.3M this season.

And that's not counting what he brings in the locker room where he's apparently one of the vocal guys.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

i like this. He’ll probably be a third liner at best in a few years but for that price he won’t be a burden.

 

[Cheddabombs]

2.5 for his on-ice abilities, the rest to maintain a stirred drink. I'll take it

 

[Bleedred]

He was definitely worth $3.1 million last year and will likely be this year and possibly even next year.

I'm just hoping we don't give McLeod and other RFA's more than we should.

 

[youryeah]

my guy was snakebitten as all hell most of last year but I never once questioned his effort and compete level (I sound like a head coach). we know he was a vocal member of that locker room too. I don't love 3 years but it's fine

 

[NJDevs26]

Looks like a bit much but you usually have to overpay in years or money for a FA (if not both), this was probably a one year or $500k per season overpay but whatever

 

[RememberTheName]

Extremely fair contract. Absolutely love it. The drink stirrer definitely became a favorite of mine throughout last season and it was nice to see him prove the naysayers wrong after his snakebitten start to the season. Excited to see him wear red for the next three years!

 

[Mgd31]

I don't care about the AAV, just wish it was 2 years. But whatever.

 

[HBK27]

Fair deal - glad to see Haula return and have some stability. Seems like he really meshed well with this group and is a veteran leader that's made it to the playoffs every single season and wants to win. He'll be 35 by the end of the deal, so a bit of concern on that 3rd year, but even if his play drops he'd be easy to move. Curious to see what kind of no trade protection he got - would imagine it might be rather limited.

 

[MasterofGrond]

He would have done better in UFA.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

He would have done better in UFA.

probably by a good amount, even despite his being snake bitten for like 70 games. He’s been a pretty consistent 15-goal, 40 point guy despite minimal PP time. And he can play anywhere in the lineup. I would hope the lines settle down next year and we have a killer bottom-6 where players like Haula, Palat, Shara, etc can all flirt with 20 goals. That sort of depth goes a long way over a full season, and we saw how valuable Haula and Palat can be in the playoffs. Happy to have him here as a role model for all our up and coming superstars.

 

[Dialamo]

Thought it would be 2 years and a slightly lower AAV but this will not break the bank. Very happy to have Haula back. Also note we have about $2,325,000 in dead cap coming off the books after the 23-24 season ends, then the Kovy recapture penalty ($250k) ends after 24-25. The cap will be rising bigly by then as well, hopefully!

 

[Zippy316]

He probably could’ve gotten close to 4 million per over a two year deal on the market. Doubt he would’ve gotten 3 years, but maybe a team would’ve offered him 3.5 or somewhere around there.

Feels like this is a fair deal. Devils went the third year to lower the AAV and he probably would rather the stability after moving around so much.

 

[ndkjr70]

I don't really think Eric Haula's age 33-36 seasons are worth more than what we paid for him.

It's an okay deal I guess. But it certainly doesn't scream "wow this guy loves the devils he took pennies on the dollar!"

 

[FinnishDevil]

Leave it up to the mr drink stirrer to re-sign on Juhannus, the midsummer celebration day when Finns get the most drunk during the whole year.

 

[DevilDog]

Haula is due for some serious positive regression next year if his Shooting% increases to his career average. If it does this could be a nice value deal.

 

[ndkjr70]

Would he have done better on July 1? In a flat cap, who is paying a to-be 32 year old third liner more than $3.1m over 3 years coming off of a 40 point season?

I'm not throwing a tantrum but this is more than I expected by a couple million bucks over a 3 year deal.

 

[Dialamo]

Another observation: at the conclusion of the 24-25 season, if the Hamilton, Haula, and Palat contracts are our only "problem" contracts, we should be in good shape.

 

[Triumph]

Would he have done better on July 1? In a flat cap, who is paying a to-be 32 year old third liner more than $3.1m over 3 years coming off of a 40 point season?

I'm not throwing a tantrum but this is more than I expected by a couple million bucks over a 3 year deal.

There isn't a flat cap, everyone is going to press themselves up to this year's cap as much as possible because next year they get relief. Haula can play every forward position and in every situation - teams pay for that. He would've gotten more.

 

[NJDevs26]

 

[MasterofGrond]

yeah confirmed it'll be very easy to get off this deal (depending on trade protection) in year 3

 

[Saugus]

Seems slightly high, but I'm glad to have Haula back. And I'm sure he's glad he won't need to be living out of a suitcase for a while.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Glad Haula finally gets some stability with the 3 year deal, maybe a bit heavy but not ridiculous.