New Jersey Devils sign Nico Daws to two-year extension
New Jersey Devils sign Nico Daws to two-year extension
The 23-year-old will play on a two-way deal in Year 1, and a one-way deal in Year 2.
Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess
Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.
The New Jersey Devils have taken care of another one of their restricted free agents. This time it’s Nico Daws, who put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension worth $812,500 per season.
Daws will play on a two-way contract this coming year with an NHL salary of $775,000 and AHL salary of $350,000.
If all goes to plan, Daws will spend the vast majority of his time in Utica. That’s why a guaranteed salary of $465,000 guaranteed is the key number here.
Even if Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen are both healthy all year long, Daws will earn $115,000 more than his AHL salary would technically see him get paid.
Daws will be on a one-way contract in 2025-26 and earn $850,000 regardless of what happens. It doesn’t matter if he’s on the NHL roster or gets waived and struggles to find his footing in the AHL. He’ll be making NHL money. And a higher salary in Year 2 will lead to a juicer qualifying offer when the time comes.
The hope is that Daws can stay healthy and play a good chunk of games in Utica. Even dating back to his OHL days, Daws has only once appeared in 40+ games over the past seven years. Heck, he has cleared 35 just twice in that span. He really hasn’t played a lot.
If he progresses well in what is essentially a development year for him, the door is open for him to take the backup job next year. Jake Allen is only signed for this coming season, after all. But the Devils aren’t just going to hand Daws the gig.
Should he put forth the kind of numbers we saw last season (Daws owned a .894 SV% in the NHL and .890 in the AHL, albeit over a small sample), the Devils will likely want another veteran behind Markstrom – be it Allen or somebody else.
Daws’ contract is very easy to bury. NHL money or not, he’ll only be playing with the Devils if he shows he belongs.
The days of Tom Fitzgerald making ‘gambles’ in goal are over. He wants this team to compete for the foreseeable future and Daws will only be given the chance to play if he can help do that.
Even though he landed a two-year deal, this is a big prove it season for Daws.
More work completed.