Devils sign Nathan Legare to one-year contract extension

The New Jersey Devils announced Thursday that the club has signed right winger Nathan Legare to a one-year, two-way contract extension that carries a $775,000 average annual value.

This season, the majority of Legare’s playing time came with the AHL affiliated Utica Comets where through 69 appearances he collected 17 goals and eight assists for 25 points coupled with a team-leading 102 penalty minutes. Legare also saw three showings with the Devils in which he finished with a minus-one rating while averaging 10:41 in time on ice per game.

Originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Legare joined the Devils last March from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for fellow forward Arnaud Durandeau.

In all, the 24-year-old Montreal native has spent four seasons in the minor-pro ranks totaling 248 career contests in which he has tallied 40 goals and 32 assists for 72 points.

A graduate of the Canadian junior circuit, Legare spent four seasons in the QMJHL from 2017-21 counting stops with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Val-d’Or Foreurs. In his second season with the Drakkar, Legare reached a career-high 87 points counting 45 goals and 42 assists coming in 68 games, while in his final year with the Foreurs he headlined the QMJHL postseason with 14 goals coming in 15 games.

Beyond his professional experience, Legare has also competed internationally, most recently at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 World Championship where through seven games he scored four goals. Legare also joined Canada White at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge where he picked up two goals and one assist for three points in six outings.

Legare’s contract extension marks the latest offseason move for the Devils who last month were eliminated in the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs after falling in five games to the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes.