The New Jersey Devils and GM Tom Fitzgerald had two things left to do to finish their offseason, and both involved restricted free agents. The Devils took care of one on Monday, signing forward Nolan Foote to a one-year deal worth $825,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the AHL level.
It's a two-way deal, which will give the Devils extended flexibility during the season in case they need to move salary to stay under the cap.
Foote's 2023-24 season had some expectations coming in, but he never had a chance to find them. Nobody would consider him a major reason why the season went off the rails, but Foote's preseason injury likely didn't help as the Devils dealt with injury problems all season.
Now, the Devils are giving him a chance to give himself a do-over. It's definitely not Foote's fault he got hurt, but his status as an RFA give the Devils a reason to try this again. With a relatively new-look roster, Foote's collection of skills (an A+ shot plus an ability to play tough and tumble when necessary) should work well in Sheldon Keefe's system. He could be a poor-man's (at least at first) Max Domi.
With Nolan Foote signed, New Jersey Devils are almost finished with their offseason priorities.
Meanwhile, the Devils are sitting with over $4 million in cap space, depending on how the roster shakes out. They still have to sign restricted free agent Dawson Mercer. That would be a much more complicated negotiation than Foote's, which was always going to end up under $1 million AAV. We're sure the Devils likely wanted to keep the contract two-way, while Foote likely wanted a one-way to keep more money in his pocket, but if he earns a spot on the roster, it won't matter.
Mercer, on the other hand, could sign a litany of different contract possibilities. He could sign for anywhere between one and eight years, depending on his average value (although with just $4ish million to spend, eight years would be many different contracts and a bad move for him personally). The Devils will likely use most of what is left for Mercer, but they might want to keep some money handy in case they want to sign a PTO or add at the trade deadline.
Signing Foote is a good move to get clarity about October, but Mercer is the real big fish that needs to get done.