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

[Lou Bloom]

Thought he'd be around $3.5M AAV so It comes in a bit less than I was expecting. Either way It's a good deal for a guy that is a great roster fit and can fill in up and down the lineup in case of injury.

 

[Darkauron]

Haula is such a great guy and loves being on the team. Gotta love that too

 

[Devs3cups]

Super glad to have him back. The stirrer baby!

 

[ndkjr70]

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.

Pedantry doesn't suit you. The cap went up $1m. A guy without a cup seemingly wants to sign with a contender, how many contenders are out there waiting in line to give a 32 year old 3rd liner $3.5+ over 3 years?

I'm not losing my mind over the contract. We've just heard repeated ad nauseum since the season ended "I told my agent to get something done, I don't want to leave", so you start to assume that means a team-friendly deal. This doesn't seem team friendly. It seems like market value for a UFA.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

It's good deal, the 3rd year is the only real issue. 150k more than what the board is seemingly hoping for is negligible and you don't want to be shopping for depth centers in UFA.

 

[Devilsgrl35]

On Fridays, the drinks get stirred.

 

[Saugus]

On Fridays, the drinks get stirred.

I'm not too busy for the rest of the day. I may just have to stir up some martinis in honor of The Bartender being re-signed.

 

[Hisch13r]

He didn't manage to get the full No Canada NTC. The difference in the way that the NHL and NBA hands out NTC is so funny. In the NHL a guy like Erik f***ing Haula can get a NTC but essentially no one in the NBA does.

 

[Forge]

 

[DerekDevils30]

 

[MasterofGrond]

perfect. Definitely able to move on year 3 if he tanks

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

He didn't manage to get the full No Canada NTC. The difference in the way that the NHL and NBA hands out NTC is so funny. In the NHL a guy like Erik f***ing Haula can get a NTC but essentially no one in the NBA does.

He probably prefers Edmonton to Carolina at this point.

 

[Triumph]

Pedantry doesn't suit you. The cap went up $1m. A guy without a cup seemingly wants to sign with a contender, how many contenders are out there waiting in line to give a 32 year old 3rd liner $3.5+ over 3 years?

I'm not losing my mind over the contract. We've just heard repeated ad nauseum since the season ended "I told my agent to get something done, I don't want to leave", so you start to assume that means a team-friendly deal. This doesn't seem team friendly. It seems like market value for a UFA.

I'm not being pedantic - I'm citing the simple fact that we know that in 2024-25, the cap is going to rise by a lot. Every transaction that goes beyond this year (and even some that don't) will take that into account. In 2021, this sort of skepticism makes sense because we all knew that the league was looking at least 2 years of a flat cap.

I think you are underestimating how bad the free agent market is and how much certain teams have to spend. I also think you are underselling Haula as a 3rd liner - he played 16 minutes a game last season. He really did not play a 3rd line role for NJ, and even if he did, he killed penalties and played on PP2. It's a fair price.

 

[Ripshot 43]

I like the 3rd year. Want this dude around our young players as long as possible.

 

[MasterofGrond]

With the salary dive + very limited NTC in year 3 that's basically a team option. He'll be around if he's good and won't be if he's bad. Guarantee someone will take him for AT WORST free in year 3.

 

[Jets012]

Can't really use anything besides the word "fine" for this deal.

Fine deal for a fine player. Not really much else to it

 

[britdevil]

Good player. Happy to have him back.

Will enjoy a lovely stirred Negroni tonight.

 

[My3Sons]

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.

He's coming off a solid end of the season and making a positive contribution to a team getting up off the mat to compete. Those are good qualities for a guy looking to find a stable landing spot. There is also the goal of giving guys who show some desire to be in NJ a fair contract. I'm guessing Fitz probably saw a team giving Haula $3.5 mil in UFA and considers the AAV as agreed upon fair. Having happy vets in the locker room like Haula and Palat and Dougie (to the extend Hamilton ever says anything) to help push the kids to compete sounds like a good thing.

 

[Devs3cups]

Just gonna leave this here...

 

[OlfactoryHughes]

Three more years of playoffs!

 

[Richer's Ghost]

Go look at Zacha, now come back and complain about the price.

Any overpayment should be considered a get rid of Zacha tax. I think it's underpaid personally. Bartender!

 

[Forge]

Can't really use anything besides the word "fine" for this deal.

Fine deal for a fine player. Not really much else to it

Dom agrees lol

 

[Saugus]

How does this affect the rest of our guys who need to be signed? I'm not sure of the exact cap numbers, but I get the feeling that this means that Tatar and probably Graves almost certainly won't be back, and that it is somewhat more likely that one of Shara or Boqvist will get traded.

Maybe we have more space than I think though.

 

[TF1970]

I can dig it. Would have preferred two years, but I think Haula definitely has plenty of gas left in the tank. And I think he would have been highly sought after in UFA. Someone would have gone at least 4x4 no doubt so considering how he played down the stretch and through the two playoff rounds.

 

[MasterofGrond]

How does this affect the rest of our guys who need to be signed? I'm not sure of the exact cap numbers, but I get the feeling that this means that Tatar and probably Graves almost certainly won't be back, and that it is somewhat more likely that one of Shara or Boqvist will get traded.

Maybe we have more space than I think though.

Means Tatar is gone, Graves is gone. We could theoretically get everybody else in, depending on how the RFA numbers shake out, if we don't pick up any outside players and roll Vitek + Schmid + cheap backup.