New Jersey Devils: Erik Haula Addition Will Lead To More Wins

Entering his tenth NHL season, Erik Haula is starting it with yet another new team. He was acquired by the New Jersey Devils from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Pavel Zacha (yes, the trade was one-for-one). A veteran who has now played on seven teams, there isn’t much that Haula hasn’t seen or experienced during his time as a pro.

“It’s just another opportunity for me to show what I can do, I want to try to help this team take that next step here,” Haula told Pucks and Pitchforks. “It’s a young group, it’s been a lot of fun (so far) and I’m enjoying being here.”

After three seasons at the University of Minnesota, the speedy Finn signed with the team that drafted him, the Minnesota Wild, and played four seasons there before he was chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 Expansion Draft. We all remember the Knights’ improbable first season where they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, and Haula was a big part of that – posting a career-best 55 points (29g-26a) in 76 games and another nine (3g-6a) in 20 playoff games.

The following season, he suffered a broken leg that limited him to just 15 games, and that off-season Vegas dealt him to Carolina. After 22 points in 41 games, Haula was traded to Florida just weeks prior to the beginning of the pandemic. The past two seasons he spent in Nashville and Boston before the trade to New Jersey.

“For sure,” Haula replied when asked if the July 13 trade stunned him. “I didn’t expect that at all. It was mid-summer and I was in the gym. I went to the changing room and that’s where I found out. It was a shock. I had a good year in Boston (44 points in 78 games), and had a lot of fun there. It was a little bit of a shock, but you get used to the idea and then move on. I’m happy to be here now.”

As a veteran of multiple teams, there was a strong probability he had crossed paths with at least someone on his new team, even though the Devils’ roster is mainly filled with home-grown talent.

“Yup, I played with (Tomas) Tatar and Dougie (Hamilton) at different stops in my career, so I knew them already. It was nice to get a text from each of them when I was traded here,” Haula told us. “I (also) played with Taylor Hall (last season in Boston), mostly on the same line, so I was able to get some good intel from him after the trade on things like the living situation, stuff like that.”

Following last season, GM Tom Fitzgerald lamented a bit that his team had a lot of the same kind of players. Haula is not like any other player that the Devils have. He can play all three positions at forward. He can take faceoffs. He’s played in 61 playoff games. And he still has speed for days at 31 years old.

“Depth, versatility, maybe that’s something they haven’t had,” he replied when asked what he hopes to bring to New Jersey. “The goal here is to take a step as a team and I’m looking forward to helping them achieve that.”

He will be someone that Lindy Ruff uses a lot in key situations, late in games, protecting leads, when looking for a tying goal. “Experience. A guy that can take key face-offs, and kill penalties. He’s a two-way player,” said Ruff when asked about what he likes about having a player such as Haula at his disposal.

“We talked about hardness, he’s a hard guy to play against, he’s tough on the puck, and he’s got that second and third gear of compete level. He has a lot of what we need (to be successful).”

He won’t be the highest-scoring player on the team, probably won’t wreak as much havoc as another no. 56 that played (football) in New Jersey a few decades ago, and he may not have been the biggest news-making transaction this off-season. But Haula is a really good team player that will be an asset for a team looking to find their way back to respectability.

If you’re looking for comparables, I feel like he will be a Valeri Zelepukin/Sergei Brylin type of player for the Devils this season, and possibly next season as well (if he re-signs).