The New Jersey Devils have re-signed restricted free agent forward Blake Coleman to a three-year contract worth $5.4 million, or $1.8 million per season. This contract carries him through the 2020-21 season.
Blake Coleman has signed a new contract with the #NJDevils. 3 years, $1.8 million per season.
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) July 17, 2018
Blake Coleman Re-signs With the Devils
Coleman has only played for New Jersey in his two-year NHL career. He has put up 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 career points in 102 career games. The Plano, Texas native was signed as an undrafted free agent out Miami University in Ohio by the Devils in 2015-16.
Last season he scored 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 79 games. He also added 50 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 48.1 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 0.1.
Coleman and the Devils avoided a July 22 arbitration meeting. The Devils gave Coleman a qualifying offer to keep him a restricted free agent. He more than doubles his salary from last year’s rate of $680,000. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent when the current deal expires.
What This Means for the Future
Coleman is a versatile forward that made the team thanks to his penalty killing and being a good matchup defender. The 27-year-old earned a roster spot thanks to his hard work in those two areas. He helped the Devils’ penalty kill to an 81.78-percent success rate, which was just under two points above the 79.82 league average.
However, he added scoring to his game with seven of his goals coming in March. Coleman has always been a scorer dating back to his days in the USHL and NCAA. He totaled 61 goals in his time with the RedHawks, including 20 in his senior season in 2014-15. Three of his goals were also shorthanded.
Coleman will likely serve as one of the top penalty killers and the Devils will think that any scoring will be a bonus.
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