Nathan Bastian has signed a new contract with the New Jersey Devils.

Great signing for the Devils. Bastian brings a lot of grit and bite to the team (also a solid secondary scorer). A very valuable position he holds with the Devils. Great for them to get him signed this cheap.

I've always liked this guy, hope NJ doesn't lose him to Seattle.

Great signing. Led the Devils in hits and great penalty killer. Best friends with Mikey McLeod. Hope we don't lose him to Seattle

"(also a solid secondary scorer)"

10 pts in 41 GP, it's just a casual 4th liner.

Solid signing. I'm concerned he becomes Kraken bait though

Hey guys, does anyone know if hockey prospects black book is going to have a print edition or just digital this year?

Noice

He also had 3 goals in 7 games last year which gives him 13 points over his first 48 games, he was about a .5 point per game player in the AHL, now you may be right and he could just be a casual 4th liner, but I think 825K is a fine gamble on a 23 year old with size, grit and perhaps some scoring potential.

Not enought upside I think. But possible.

Devils would love to keep Bastian over AJ, but I think Bastian is on his way to Seattle. This is one of the problems when you have such a young team. They have to expose 2 Forwards and AJ had a terrible season and has little value. Butcher is very similar on D. I'm hoping Tom Fitzgerald can pull a rabbit out of the hat here, and figure out a way to keep Nate Bastian, because he's a key part of the teams bottom six moving forward. Very key.

I'm glad we got him for under a million.

What the heck are you talking about. The Devils have tons of bottom 6 players/prospects. Bastian is not important at all. Seattle will take either butcher/subban or johnsson/mcleod, whether they want a dman or a forward (whoever is exposed of each 2). Johnsson had good analytics and is a top 6 forward and Seattle has a big analytics department. They take him over bastian 100 out of 100 times.

Hahahaha Subban?? Why would they ever pay $9M AAV for a guy worth $4M AAV? And Butcher couldn't crack the lineup on one of the league's worst defensive teams and he carries a cap hit of $3.7M. AJ will have no part of the Devils future. He's terrible. Bastian plays with an edge. All you people understand is stats. You need physicality in your lineup if you're gonna win in the playoffs, or haven't you noticed the Isles and Golden Knights just knock off 2 Cup favorites? Bastian projects as the quintessential 4th liner on a good team. They'd rather keep McLeod, b/c. he brings speed and physicality, and that's why he's still unsigned. But, AJ, Subban, and Butcher are worthless long term.

to be fair butcher didnt play because hes the odd offensive defenseman out and there really wasnt anywhere to put him except across from subban. when butcher played he performed better than subban.

Late in the season, Butcher performed pretty well offensively, but he's a train wreck in his own end. He was a PP specialist anyway. Shero was not good at evaluating talent. And the Devils would gladly be taken off the hook on either Butch or P.K. Never gonna happen, though.

i dont see why though I think depth is definitely a bigger problem on the blueline. the cap is not anywhere near a problem. taking either butcher or subban only helps get the other to play more consistently. Subban is probably more likely to be picked if they were both exposed still amazing in the community everywhere he goes. but Butcher is younger, cheaper (doubt that matters in Seattle's case) and has more potential. I would hope if the devils get a forward or a defenseman taken its a forward preferably Johnsson or Merkley. not bastion or mccleod.