Nathan Bastian will be back with the New Jersey Devils after all. One day after the team opted not to extend him a qualifying offer for $918,750, the burly right winger has signed a two-year contract with a $1.35 million AAV. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Bastian, 25, was a Devils’ second-round pick, 42nd overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft and has spent the majority of his NHL career with them. He first broke in with the Devils in 2018-19 and has established himself as a physical depth forward who brings a heavy game with his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame. He was chosen by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft but was placed on waivers after 12 games and reclaimed by the Devils in November of that year.
In parts of four NHL seasons, Bastian has 24 goals and 46 points in 163 games, 151 of which have been with the Devils. He averages 12 goals per 82 games but his calling card is his hard-hitting forecheck. Over the past three seasons, among 884 players who’ve logged at least 300 minutes at 5-on-5, Bastian ranks 29th in hits per 60, placing him in the 97th percentile.
This past season, Bastian chipped in six goals and 15 points across 43 games, wrapping up the second season of a two-year deal at an $825,000 cap hit. He missed almost half the season as a result of recurring injury to his shoulder. With the nagging injury affecting his play at times, he found himself a “healthy” scratch on several occasions too. Bastian will bring depth to a Devils lineup that got deeper with the acquisition of Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames earlier this week. The Devils also locked up wingers Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier on eight-year contracts in the weeks leading up to free agency.
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