The arbitration date was set for July 29th, but with the trend of settling beforehand back in full swing, the New Jersey Devils and defenseman Adam Larsson were destined to be back together without that messy hearing... or something like that, right?The former number four overall pick in the 2011 Entry Draft has signed a new 6-year deal, reportedly worth around $25 million in total, roughly a $4.16 million cap hit. A very promising deal for a very up-and-coming defenseman in the NHL.
The 2015 season was his fourth in the NHL and he was bouncing back from a very tough 2014 season, where he didn't have the confidence of his coaches to stay in the lineup for the better part of the year. The start of his 2015 campaign wasn't great either, as he was a scratch in eight of the first nine games, was sick in December and missed some more time, but he did finish the season strong, ending up with 64 games under his belt, 3 goals and 24 points, finishing 64th among all defensemen in scoring.
Larsson does help to make up a very decent blueline in New Jersey and it looks like he'll be there for quite a while.
A strong finish to last season, a regular in the lineup, heading into his fifth NHL season with a 6-year deal in his pocket... I think Larsson is going to be a very confident player heading into training camp and he could pose as a decent threat for points, as much as the rest of the New Jersey offense will let him.In my early Summer projections, the Devils currently rank last in the NHL in forward points, which doesn't bode well for the likes of Larsson, Damon Severson or Andy Greene, who all have some reasonable point potential. With one leading the other, the Devils have the 26th ranked defense today, with Larsson currently fitting into the projections.
As much as there might be some gains for Larsson individually, the rest of the team may suffer and it could be a long year in the swamp.
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