New Jersey Devils sign forward Erik Haula to three-year contract extension

The New Jersey Devils have re-signed forward Erik Haula to a three-year contract, Daily face-to-face‘s Frank Seravalli reported on Friday afternoon.

Haula, 32, had 14 goals and 41 points in 80 games for the Devils during the 2022-23 regular season. He added four goals and two assists in 12 games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

According to Seravalli, Haula’s new contract carries a cap of $3.15 million for the next three seasons. The Finnish striker was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Devils originally acquired Haula from the Boston Bruins last July, sending Pavel Zacha the other way in the trade. Haula was halfway through a two-year contract he signed with the Bruins in 2021.

The Minnesota Wild originally selected Haula in the seventh round (182nd overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. The five-foot-11 forward eventually made his NHL debut with the Wild in the 2013-14 season.

After spending four years in Minnesota, Haula was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. He scored a career-high 55 points to help the « Golden Misfits » reach the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence.

In 2019, the Golden Knights traded Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes. He lasted less than a year in North Carolina before ending up on the move to the Florida Panthers; then, after a year with the Nashville Predators, he signed with the Bruins as a free agent.

In 614 career games over 10 NHL seasons with the Wild, Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Panthers, Predators, Bruins and Devils, Haula had 126 goals and 281 points. He added 16 goals and 36 points in 73 playoff games.