The New Jersey Devils won 3 Stanley Cups during the Brodeur-Niedermayer dynasty, but lost their star defenseman shortly after the salary cap was introduced. Martin Brodeur still had some gas in the tank despite being 34 years old when the new CBA was ratified, winning a pair of Vezina trophies (2007 & 2008), helping the team make the playoffs 6 times in 7 years. The Devils hit their post cap apex in 2012 when they acquired Ilya Kovalchuk and advanced to the Stanley Cup final. Their fortunes would take a steep drop into the abyss after Ilya defected back to Russia, Zach Parise departed for Minnesota, and Martin Brodeur turned 40.
This started a span of 8 years with just a single playoff appearance. The only thing they won over this span was the draft lottery twice. Lou Lamoriello was replaced by Ray Shero in 2015, but Ray only made the playoffs once in 4 years before getting fired himself. Tom Fitzgerald is now sitting in the captain’s chair, and looks to have the franchise pointing in the right direction. Lou has been gone for nearly a decade, but still dominates their best contract list, hence why this is still among the oldest best contract lists in the league. You can see that in their rankings report card below, with hits per 60 minutes also near the bottom.
This was originally published in my 2020 book Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other (with a few exceptions). The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here. One thing you won't find here are entry level contracts because they all come from the same cookie cutter and require less skill at the negotiating table.
1. Jack Hughes
Adjusted Cap Hit: $64.1M, $8.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $84.6M, $10.6M (avg)
% Earned: 132%
"His future is incredibly bright and he will be a pillar for our franchise for years to come."
The first two seasons of Jack Hughes’ career fell short of expectations for a first overall draft pick, scoring at a rate of 36 PTS per 82 GP. His year two stat line was worth in the neighborhood of $4.7M, but Devils management had the courage to offer him an early extension of 8 years at $8M believing in his upside. They were right.
In the final season of his ELC, Hughes scored at a whopping 94-point pace, which prorated over 82 games would have an expected free agent value north of $10M. That’s why my Twitter followers voted this to be the second best contract in the entire NHL before it even officially started. In year one he scored 99 PTS, while year two was derailed by injury but still saw dominant stretches of play by the young star.
2. Martin Brodeur
Adjusted Cap Hit: $48.3M, $8.1M (avg)
Value Returned: $34.0M, $5.7M (avg)
% Earned: 70%
"Both parties are extremely pleased. He accomplished what he would like to accomplish and I believe we accomplished what we'd like to accomplish. It's as simple as that."
Signing a 34-year-old player to a 6-year contract carries enormous risk, but it paid off for Lou Lamoriello. Brodeur accepted a lower salary than contemporaries Nikolai Khabibulin and Marty Turco, but was able to secure an extra 2 years term (which may have been deliberate to lower the average cap hit).
Marty could have retired instead of agreeing to this pact and still had a strong case for entry into the Hall of Fame. What happened? He won 2 more Vezina trophies, further cementing his legacy as one of history’s best goaltenders. This could have been for 6 years $80M and still been worthwhile investment (except for the fact that would not fit under the salary cap).
His performance did eventually fade towards the end, but if you guaranteed any GM that they could get 2 Vezina trophies on any given contract, they’d all happily write a blank cheque.
3. Nico Hischier
Adjusted Cap Hit: $51.2M, $7.3M (avg)
Value Returned: $52.2M, $7.5M (avg)
% Earned: 102%
Before the Devils took the aforementioned gamble on Jack Hughes, they made the same play with fellow first overall pick Nico Hischier, who received a 7-year deal at the conclusion of his ELC. He was still a 50ish-point player at the time, so initially this appeared to be an over-payment with the team banking on ascension to a higher tier of play. It certainly didn’t happen in year one, as Nico was limited by injury in the pandemic shortened season, scoring 11 PTS in 21 GP. He didn’t come out of the gate guns blazing like Hughes, but there was considerable improvement in year two. By year three, he scored 80 PTS and finished second to Patrice Bergeron in Selke Trophy voting. Not only has he begun scoring at an elite level, he’s also one of the top shutdown centers in the league, giving the Devils a lethal 1-2 punch down the middle (which didn’t translate to success in 2023/24).
4. Zach Parise
Adjusted Cap Hit: $18.8M, $4.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $28.0M, $7.0M (avg)
% Earned: 148%
"Over the past two seasons, Zach has established himself as one of the outstanding young stars in the National Hockey League"
By his second season in the NHL, Zach Parise scored 30 goals and 60 PTS before locking himself into a 4-year term at a low price tag. It was very close to what Mikko Koivu (a center) had procured one month earlier, but significantly less that what Nathan Horton had been paid by Florida for an almost identical stat line.
Years two and three would turn out to be the most productive of Zach’s entire career, scoring 187 PTS (including playoffs). Then in year four a torn meniscus cost him a majority of the season. Over the full span, the winger scored 247 PTS in 257 GP (79-point pace), including 15 PTS in 17 playoff GP. Days before his arbitration hearing, Parise and the Devils reached an agreement on a 1-year deal for substantially more money, that would walk him directly to unrestricted free agency after a trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
5. Brian Gionta
Adjusted Cap Hit: $1.3M, $1.3M (avg)
Value Returned: $9.4M, $9.4M (avg)
% Earned: 813%
“He’s an exceptional hockey player.”
Of all the non-entry level contracts signed since the induction of the salary cap, Brian Gionta accomplished a rare feat; no player has scored more PTS for less money (entry level notwithstanding). Coming out of the 2005 lockout, Gionta had accumulated 201 games of NHL experience, scoring 83 PTS (including playoffs, 34-point pace) and was a Stanley Cup champion. He had not yet showed his offensive upside, yet still deserved more money than this.
The winger very likely did Lou Lamoriello a favor accepting exceptionally team friendly terms, allowing the Devils to be cap compliant while retaining players from their 2003 championship roster. Gionta came back from the lost season on fire, smashing his career best by scoring 89 PTS. No player since has surpassed or matched that total for under $1M on a non-ELC (Andrew Brunnette is next on that list with 83 PTS in 2007).
6. Jamie Langenbrunner
Adjusted Cap Hit: $22.1M, $4.4M (avg)
Value Returned: $28.8M, $5.8M (avg)
% Earned: 130%
"He is the prototypical Devils player. He works hard. He is a team player. He is a quality individual."
You won’t find many 5+ year contracts given to players over the age of 30 appear on one of my “best contracts” lists (there are 12 others to be precise, out of 450 (at least when my book was published in 2020)). Lou was taking a big risk by handing out this term to an aging veteran because he played a big role in a Stanley Cup victory a few years earlier (leading them in playoff scoring in 2003).
Lucky for Lou, Langenbrunner aged well and gave him 4 productive seasons (well 3.5, year two was cut short with injury), including a career high 69 PTS in 2009. Jamie was named captain of the Devils in 2007. His production hit the skids in the final year, but not so bad that they couldn’t flip the vet to Dallas for a 3rd round draft pick.
7. Andy Greene
Adjusted Cap Hit: $2.1M, $1.1M (avg)
Value Returned: $11.5M, $5.8M (avg)
% Earned: 517%
“We weren't worried about a qualifying offer. Unrestricted free agency wasn't something we were looking into."
Andy Greene had showed very little offensive upside in his first 131 NHL GP, scoring at a 16-point pace over his first 3 seasons. When he needed a new deal at age 26, the expectations were low. So low in fact that Lou declined to give him a qualifying offer with a 10% raise. Greene actually tested the UFA market but had no intention of leaving Jersey, returning on July 1st at a miniscule price.
Greene’s spot on the roster wasn’t even guaranteed heading into year one, but he eventually won the job and saw his average ice time shoot up to 23.5 minutes, scoring a career best 37 PTS, a total you might expect from a $6M blueliner. When this expired and he had the option to once again explore free agency, he again chose to return to the Devils, but this time for a substantial pay raise.
8. Brian Rafalski
Adjusted Cap Hit: $17.0M, $8.5M (avg)
Value Returned: $18.0M, $9.0M (avg)
% Earned: 107%
"I can't do what Nieder does. I do what I do. Hopefully, that will benefit me. I've always been able to do things at a very high level. As far as pressure goes, I tend to do better under pressure."
It’s hard to imagine how a defenseman with 2 Stanley Cups and multiple 40+ point seasons on his recent resume didn’t have more suitors with bigger offers, or if Lou Lamoriello had the inside track due to loyalty. Rafalski signed this shortly after teammate and future Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer departed for Anaheim, presumably because the Devils did not have the cap space to retain both.
Most NHL teams were in a serious cap crunch immediately after the cap was imposed, which may have limited Rafalski’s options. The Devils got exactly what they paid for. In 164 GP he posted 104 PTS averaging 25.5 minutes of ice time per game. His next stop was Detroit, where he added another championship to his trophy case.
9. Jesper Bratt
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.5M, $5.5M (avg)
Value Returned: $7.0M, $7.0M (avg)
% Earned: 127%
"Jesper Bratt's a big part of our team, he's a big part of our future. Things like this, sometimes the business side can take a little bit longer than you expect or want, but at the end of the day we're ecstatic that Jesper is back in the mix here.”
Jesper Bratt scored 32 PTS in 60 GP in the final year of his entry level contract, and the new bridge deal he inked with the Devils was at the appropriate pay grade for that production. He showed immediate improvement in year one, raising his scoring rate from 44 to 53, but the real breakout came in year two when he scored 73 PTS in 76 GP (when he produced at more than double his pay grade).
Despite the sensational bargain New Jersey received, it actually might have been better had they been able to sign him long-term (which may not be for a lack of trying). If you’ve got a really talented player and you sign them short-term, the next contract can get considerably more expensive if there is an explosive breakout on the bridge. Call it the P.K Subban rule. Bratt reportedly wanted to bet on himself, and the Devils were able to re-sign him at a reasonable cap hit.
10. Damon Severson
Adjusted Cap Hit: $26.0M, $4.3M (avg)
Value Returned: $32.0M, $5.3M (avg)
% Earned: 122%
"Damon brings an important dimension to our hockey club and he is a young defenseman that we are excited to work with.”
Damon Severson went directly to the NHL after graduating Junior hockey, and only played 3 AHL games over the course of his ELC, scoring 31 PTS in the final year. The young defenseman went unsigned all summer until inking this RFA pact in September. He had no arbitration rights and was at Ray Shero’s mercy if the GM decided to play hardball.
Fortunately for Damon, he got a fair proposal at a salary very close to what his previous year’s stat line warranted (it was a slightly cheaper clone of the Zaitsev/Gostisbehere deals 3 months earlier). By agreeing to this package, Severson surrendered 2 years of unrestricted free agency, which could have been a big pay day given that he’s been producing like a $6.3M player in years two and three.
11. Blake Coleman
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.6M, $1.9M (avg)
Value Returned: $12.0M, $4.0M (avg)
% Earned: 208%
"Blake proved himself this season with his work ethic, intensity level and competitiveness. He worked throughout the year to become a strong penalty killer who also had a positive impact in the offensive zone. We look forward to him continuing his development in the next stage of his career."
Blake Coleman was a 3rd round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2011, but had a delayed path to the NHL by staying in college the full four years. He potted 13 goals and 25 PTS in his first full season in 2018, and earned himself an appropriately priced contract for the stat line.
Coleman might not have the offensive ceiling as other forwards on this list, but he could give you 20 goals, 200 shots, 200 hits, while playing 17 minutes per night. The numbers he produced over the first 2 seasons are what you’d expect from a player making $3.8M. That may have been inflated by increased opportunity for ice time on a really bad Devils team, and that he would not get the same prime deployment if traded to a contender…which is exactly what happened, as New Jersey obtained a 1st round pick from Tampa in exchange for the back half of Coleman’s deal. The Lightning parlayed that deal into a Stanley Cup championship.
On a personal note, I was formerly a vocal member of the Blake Coleman Fantasy Hockey Booster Club, but sold my stock after the Tampa trade when his ice time got slashed.
12. Scott Gomez
Adjusted Cap Hit: $4.7M, $4.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $9.1M, $9.1M (avg)
% Earned: 200%
"You go up and see Lou in the big chair. You have to be accountable for what you do.”
As has already been established, Scott Gomez wasn’t the only Devil to take a discount in the mighty cap crunch of 2005. Scotty was a 70-point player the previous season and had won multiple championships in a Devils jersey. There clearly was no promise by Lou to pay the discount back to Gomer on the next deal, as the two sides would go to arbitration in July 2006.
Gomez featured prominently in the success of Brian Gionta on the infamous EGG line, as both would parlay that dynamic chemistry into big pay raises. The 81 PTS he scored in 2006 would turn out to be a career high mark, but helped him score a massive lottery ticket from the Rangers in the summer of 2007, one of the worst monetary debacles of the salary cap era.
13. Adam Henrique
Adjusted Cap Hit: $27.9M, $4.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $33.7M, $5.6M (avg)
% Earned: 119%
“The Devils are a great organization and I want to continue to be part of it. We are going to have a good team this year with some new players signed.”
Adam Henrique scored 50 PTS as a rookie in 2012, scoring 13 playoff PTS while helping the Devils advance to the Stanley Cup final. Following a disappointing sophomore performance in the lockout shortened season, the young pivot agreed to a long-term extension (for a generous sum considering the 16 PTS he’d just produced in 43 GP), selling 2 years of unrestricted free agency.
For 6 seasons he consistently produced between 40-50 points and averaged 23 goals per 82 GP playing 18 minutes per night. This was a valuable enough commodity to extract a precious asset from Anaheim, when Henrique was traded for Sami Vatanen. The Mighty Ducks gave him $29M you can read about on Anaheim’s worst contracts list.
14. Zach Parise
Adjusted Cap Hit: $7.8M, $7.8M (avg)
Value Returned: $9.2M, $9.2M (avg)
% Earned: 117%
“That's why he decided to accept a one-year contract. He wants to see where they are heading, what kind of players they have. They have acquired some good young players. He's not going to rush into anything. He'll take his time, analyze the whole thing.''
The Devils narrowly avoided arbitration with Zach Parise after an injury plagued season, convincing him to return for one year before testing unrestricted free agency. The agreed upon salary was likely less than what the arbitrator could have awarded, but that wasn’t exactly a victory for the franchise, failing to lock up their star player to a long-term extension less than a year after dolling out $100M to Ilya Kovalchuk.
This all but assured Parise’s departure, as Zach would team-up with Ryan Suter to rob a bank in Minnesota the following summer. Still, the memories were good while it lasted, as the Devil fans got to enjoy one last trip the Stanley Cup finals before the team’s fortunes withered into darkness.
15. Johnny Oduya
Adjusted Cap Hit: $1.9M, $.94M (avg)
Value Returned: $7.5M, $3.7M (avg)
% Earned: 386%
"He has developed into one of the more talented young defensemen in the National Hockey League."
Johnny Oduya played one season in the NHL on his ELC after coming over from Sweden and needed a new contract. He only notched 11 PTS as a rookie and wasn’t about to break the bank, signing for close to the league minimum on a 2-year term. Johnny had not yet developed into one of the more talented young defensemen in the league, but he would be two years later (according to Lou anyway).
This investment could not have worked out better for the Devils, as these would become the 2 highest scoring seasons of Oduya’s entire career with 26 and 29 PTS respectively. After this expired, he became an unrestricted agent and chose to stay in New Jersey, but did not last long before being moved to the Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets in the Kovalchuk trade.
16. Jesper Bratt
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.6M, $2.8M (avg)
Value Returned: $10.4M, $5.2M (avg)
% Earned: 183%
Jesper Bratt received a 2-year bridge deal shortly before the start of the 2021 pandemic season at a price near what you’d expect a player scoring at a 44-point pace to receive. It didn’t take long for Bratt to elevate his output, scoring at a 53-point pace in year one and 79 in year two (with a stat line that was worth more than double his actual salary). When this expired the two sides were unable to agree on a long-term extension, taking a 1-year deal in which he sustained his elevated production. At that point, Tom Fitzgerald was comfortable making a long-term commitment, which may be featured on this list eventually.
17. Lee Stempniak
Adjusted Cap Hit: $1.0M, $1.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $6.0M, $6.0M (avg)
% Earned: 548%
"You didn't need to train as hard as you get older, you need to train a little bit smarter. For me a big emphasis was on quickness and explosiveness and just try and keep up your ability to skate. I think that's a big thing because the game's getting so fast now that if you can skate it's a huge asset."
By the time he reached his 30th birthday, Lee Stempniak wasn’t much better than a 30-point player, and got paid accordingly after waiting all summer to get a new contract, accepting a cheap ticket from Ray Shero right before the season started.
This became a bonanza for the Devils, as Lee discovered the fountain of youth and had one of the best seasons of his entire career, scoring 51 PTS at a bargain price. It allowed Shero to extract a substantial fee from the Boston Bruins to rent Stempniak’s services for the remainder of the season, netting 2nd and 4th round draft picks from a cheap UFA. It is a triumph in asset management with “found money” (I almost wanted to rank this higher for that reason).
18. Jaromir Jagr
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.2M, $5.2M (avg)
Value Returned: $7.8M, $7.8M (avg)
% Earned: 149%
“In my stage, because I love the game, I was looking for the team where I was going to have the opportunity to play. I was talking to Lou before Kovalchuk retired. And after he retired, I think it was even more important for me to play on the Devils.”
Jaromir Jagr returned from the KHL to sign a series of 1-year contracts, most of which came after his 40th birthday. The man was officially a freak of nature who exploited his obsessive commitment to fitness in his battle against Father Time. He came to New Jersey at age 41 and potted 67 PTS, earning every penny of the millions he was paid. Interestingly, it was the abrupt retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk that clinched the deal, as Jagr saw a vacancy on their power play.
Impressive as this was, it was not the highest scoring over-40 season in the salary cap era, with that honor going to Teemu Selanne in 2011 (who was paid a similar amount to Jagr on this deal). Jaromir did not stop here, playing 4 more years after this expired, signing once more with the Devils, who later traded him to Florida.
19. Petr Sykora
Adjusted Cap Hit: $0.84M, $0.84M (avg)
Value Returned: $4.6M, $4.6M (avg)
% Earned: 489%
Petr Sykora only played 14 games in 2010 at age 32, scoring 3 PTS before returning to Europe for one season. It did not take a big contract offer by New Jersey to lure him back to North America, coming back for a fraction of his previous NHL salary. The low-risk gamble would produce a nice reward, as the rejuvenated Czech would score 21 goals and 44 PTS. Though he may have emptied the tank with that performance, playing just 5 more games in Switzerland before retiring from pro hockey.
20. Pavel Zacha
Adjusted Cap Hit: $6.9M, $2.3M (avg)
Value Returned: $12.4M, $4.1M (avg)
% Earned: 177%
Pavel Zacha earned a full-time NHL job as a 19-year-old, but did not push his offensive ceiling as high as you’d hope for a 6th overall pick on his ELC, topping out at a 34-point pace. The team’s reluctance to commit long-term was justifiable, but paid him a fair price on a 3-year bridge deal. That’s when the young center started an upward trajectory, elevating to a 57-point pace by year two, substantially outperforming his pay grade. When this expired, he was traded to Boston for Erik Haula, continuing his strong output.