Devils send Severson to Blue Jackets in sign-and-trade

Damon Severson put pen to paper on an eight-year deal worth $50 million. In exchange for facilitating the deal, the Devils acquired a 2023 3rd round pick.

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The Damon Severson era is over in New Jersey.

Friday morning it was announced the longest tenured member of the Devils had agreed to terms on an eight-year contract worth $50 million ($6.25M per) with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The contract breakdown is as follows, first reported by yours truly:

23-24: $6M salary, $2M bonus
24-25: $6M salary, $2M bonus
25-26: $5.5M salary, $2M bonus
26-27: $4.1M salary, $2M bonus
27-28: $3.3M salary, $1.8M bonus
28-29: $5.1M salary, $1M bonus
29-30: $5.1M salary, no bonus
30-31: $5.1M salary, no bonus

As the only team able to give Severson max-term, the Devils had to sign the deal before trading it to Columbus.

In exchange for the additional year, and allowing for the Blue Jackets to get this done now, the Devils pried free a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft (80th overall).

The Devils were not scheduled to pick in the 3rd round. Now, they own a pick in each round beyond the 1st.

I had initially believed the Devils would get a 4th or 5th rounder in a deal for Severson. Fetching a late 3rd instead is a nice bonus, although not far off expectation.

With regards to why the Blue Jackets would trade as much as a 3rd rounder for a pending unrestricted free agent, there are a few reasons: