by Jordan Long
The New Jersey Devils agreed to a new contract with forward Kyle Palmieri. The deal is for five years and a total of $23.25 million. It will pay him $4.65 million a year.
Palmieri ended his fifth NHL season. He spent the first, four years with the Anaheim Ducks. Last offseason, Anaheim traded Palmieri to New Jersey for a second-round pick in last year’s NHL Draft and a third-round pick in this year’s Draft. Palmieri scored 30 goals and added 27 assists for a total of 57 points this past season. The 57 points were the most on the Devils, while the 30 goals were tied for the team lead. The Devils missed the playoffs with a record of 38-36-8 with 84 points.
Palmieri was a restricted free agent. The Devils knew how valuable he was to the team. They couldn’t afford losing him, so they were able to get a new deal done According to NHL.com, Palmieri said, “For me it just brings pure excitement. Obviously I had a great time and it was a lot of fun this year. With the additions we’ve made this summer I’m really looking forward to what the future might hold for this team.”
The Devils were smart to keep him. He is productive on full strength situations as well as on the power play. He scored 11 power play goals last season. Palmieri is a fast skater and is young at 25 years old. He is entering the prime of his career and will only get better. His speed allows him to skate past the opposing defenders. Palmieri creates breakaways or odd man rushes with teammates.
The Devils have their scorer for the next five seasons. In order to become a playoff team, New Jersey must be better offensively. Palmieri can’t do it all himself. The Devils were last in the league in scoring with 2.22 goals per game. They must create more offense so they can improve in the standings.
What do you think of the New Jersey Devils keeping Kyle Palmieri?
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