Devils re-sign Erik Haula to 3-year, $9.45M contract

The New Jersey Devils re-signed forward Erik Haula to a three-year, $9.45-million contract, the team announced Friday.

Haula was set to become an unrestricted free agent. His new deal sees his cap hit rise from $2.375 million to $3.15 million.

The 32-year-old tallied 14 goals and 41 points in 80 games with New Jersey last season. Haula was acquired from the Boston Bruins last summer for forward Pavel Zacha.

"When I traded for Erik, we talked about how he was the type of player that we needed to help us continue to move the group forward," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "He played key minutes in all situations throughout the season - power play, penalty kill, taking faceoffs - and provided leadership for our team."

"I don't want to play for any other team," Haula said in May, according to NJ.com's Ryan Novozinsky. "I want to come back here."

The versatile Finn was the fourth-most-used forward in the postseason for New Jersey, averaging 17:35 of ice time. He scored four goals and six points in 12 playoff contests.

Haula has played 614 NHL games across stints with seven teams.

The signing leaves the Devils with just over $23.5 million in cap space, per CapFriendly. Notable restricted free agent Timo Meier remains unsigned, while Jesper Bratt was extended on an eight-year contract earlier in June.

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