The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a three-year contract extension with center Erik Haula, the team announced Friday. The contract carries an average annual value of $3.15MM, paid out as follows:
2023-24: $2.9MM salary + $1MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2024-25: $2.15MM salary + $1MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2025-26: $2.4MM salary, six team no-trade list
PuckPedia reported the details of Haula’s signing bonuses and trade protection.
Haula, 32, was one of three Devils depth forwards destined for unrestricted free agency on July 1. He could be the only one returning out of himself, Miles Wood, and Tomas Tatar, as the Devils would like to keep some salary cap space open heading into the free-agent market.
The Finnish forward has bounced around quite a bit in the past few seasons. He hadn’t played for the same team in back-to-back seasons since his stint with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and 2018-19, a trend that will end next year.
He’s revived his career significantly in the past two seasons with the Devils and Boston Bruins, recording back-to-back 40-point campaigns after notching just nine goals and 21 points in 51 games with the Nashville Predators in 2020-21. Haula was a force in the faceoff circle for the Devils last year, winning 54.2% of his draws, and recorded his highest average time on ice (16:38) since his first season in Vegas.
Haula finished the 2022-23 campaign with 14 goals, 27 assists, and 41 points in 80 games, finishing seventh on the team in all those categories. He added four goals in 12 playoff games for the Devils, which was second on the team behind Jack Hughes, and played over 17 minutes per game.
Retaining Haula puts the Devils in quite a position of strength down the middle. A three-year extension could get hairy near the end, given he’ll be turning 35 in the deal’s final season, but he remains a high-end third-line center.
Behind Hughes and Nico Hischier, the team’s center depth in the Metropolitan Division is rivaled by perhaps the New York Rangers, with Filip Chytil as their third-line center – although most would rather have Hughes and Hischier over Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck on their top two lines.
Haula just completed the final season of a two-year contract signed with Boston in 2021 that paid him $2.375MM per season.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report the two sides were nearing an extension. NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky was the first to report the contract’s value.
One of those odd mid-range deals for veterans that are rare in the NHL these days. It’s good value for a reliable faceoff guy playing bottom-6 minutes.
It’s either gonna be good value or it’s gonna be a Granlund like deal
Seems like alot for a 3rd liner who’s often injured.
Too expensive for the length… shoulda been 2 x $3 or 3 x $2.5… and I like Haulas game.
Also why the NTCs with no discount for that security… this is Fitz first bad contract imo. It could be great or a 2025 buyout.
can’t imagine a 2025 buyout even if Haula doesn’t perform well. very tradeable last year of the contract: salary is front loaded, only 6 teams no-trade, no bonuses
I mean the money is right where you want it at with term it averages out to be just under the 2.5 million per year
Good deal, and good for Haula too. I can’t complain at all about Zacha, but I wish the Bruins didn’t have to give up Haula in exchange; he’s no star, but he does the job.