The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a new contract with Yegor Sharangovich that will carry a $2M average annual value. The two-year deal will pay Sharangovich $1.8M in 2021-22 and $2.2M in 2022-23.
If you weren’t paying attention to the Devils this season, you might have missed the breakout of the 23-year-old Sharangovich. Selected 141st overall back in 2018, he burst onto the NHL scene this year and scored 16 goals and 30 points in 54 games. That was good for third on the Devils roster and slotted him clearly into the team’s long-term plans.
The Belarusian forward finished 10th in Calder Trophy voting and will now receive a healthy raise on the entry-level salary he earned this year. The deal will also take him to arbitration eligibility after the 2022-23 season and in line for a $2.2M qualifying offer. That’s some nice financial security for a late-round pick who has played just 54 games at the NHL level to this point.
The Devils of course are swimming in cap space at the moment, only just creeping over the lower limit with Sharangovich’s deal. Even with Dougie Hamilton signed long-term, the team is in good shape, as P.K. Subban’s deal comes off the books next year, and only Hamilton and captain Nico Hischier are signed through 2023-24. The team does have to navigate RFA negotiations with basically the whole roster in the years to come, but will be able to pick and choose who they extend long-term. The biggest thing right now is for the team to start turning the corner towards playoff contention, something that was clearly the target when they signed Hamilton and Jonathan Bernier for more than $13M per season.
Sharangovich will help them to that goal, though he is still in this group of somewhat interchangeable young forwards on the roster. Andreas Johnsson, 26, is the oldest of the bunch, with several spots left to fill. Even with Sharangovich’s deal, the Devils have just seven forwards signed to one-way contracts, meaning a few more depth additions could be made in the coming months.
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