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this New Jersey Devils has completed the penultimate restricted free agent contract extension of the 2024 offseason. The team announced this morning They have re-signed Nolan Foote to a two-way contract for one season. In the NHL, his annual salary is $850,000. In the AHL, his annual salary is $150,000, and the total guarantee is $200,000.
Nolan Foote had a close relationship with General Manager Tom Fitzgerald during his tenure as General Manager of the New Jersey Devils. After Ray Shero was fired, Fitzgerald was appointed interim General Manager. He was given the go-ahead to rebuild the team. On February 16, 2020, he began rebuilding the team. First, he traded Andy Greene to the Islanders in exchange for a second-round pick and David Quenneville. Second, he trades Blake Coleman went to Tampa Bay in exchange for a first-round pick (Vancouver’s first) and Nolan Foote. That pick ended up being No. 20 in 2020. It was used to select Shakir Mukhamadullin, who was traded to San Jose in 2023 as part of the Timo Meier trade. As for Foote, he was a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2019, No. 27 overall. He’s big. He’s strong. He has a good shot. The issues then were his speed and skating. Those aren’t great, but maybe they can be fixed in time.
That time will be punctuated by a bigger issue: health. Foote has missed a fair bit of time over the years with various injuries. He was traded to New Jersey in the 2019-20 season and played in just 27 WHL games. He did play in 24 games for Binghamton and six for the Devils during the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Foote will play for Utica over the next two seasons, but not all of them. He did get called up to New Jersey, but 55 games for the Comets and 6-7 for New Jersey means he’s been a bit hurt. Last season, four games for the Devils and four for the Comets was a complete draw. Foote revealed that he was having disc problems in his lower back. In four seasons as a pro: Ford played 23 games with New Jersey, scoring six goals and eight points. With the AHL affiliate, he played 138 games, totaling 44 goals and 90 points. While the AHL numbers are solid, one can’t help but wonder how he would have fared if he’d been able to play a full season. One can’t help but wonder how he would have fared after dealing with lower back issues before turning 24.
Still, there are some in the organization who believe he can be somebody. According to Kristie Flannery of The Hockey News, Before last season, when news of Foote’s upper-body injury broke, Fitzgerald had this to say:
“For a kid who’s never really played center, it’s incredible. He’s got great size, and his skating has improved,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a really good kid. But he’s committed to it. That’s all you can ask for. When I look at player development, I look at where he started, where he’s at, and where he’s going. I give all the credit to our (Utica) coaching staff. But more than anything, Nolan deserves a lot of credit, too. He’s taking it. He’s thriving. We have big plans for Nolan.”
Obviously, those plans did come to fruition last season, but failed to materialize. I understand why Fitzgerald would be a fan of Nolan Foote. He traded for him. When he was still the interim GM, he traded a key player — Coleman — to get him and a draft pick. Fitzgerald has been focused on adding size to the team in 2024, so keeping a 6-foot-4, 200-plus-pound winger fits in with his recent goals. I kind of understand that he just needs to be able to play on the ice to thrive. However, I’m not holding out for much. He’ll turn 24 in November, so his development time is coming to an end, if it hasn’t already. His actual speed and pace of play will likely remain issues, and could be further hampered by not playing consistently. How much help Foote can provide when he doesn’t have the puck and the Devils don’t have offense is unknown. It’s also unclear if his performance hints at something more or is just part of the performance. Considering the bottom six players are all wingers, Foote will have to fight for the spot. If given the chance, he would work harder to keep the position.
To that end, this contract reflects that. A one-season, two-way contract like this shows that the team currently considers him a backup to the team. Because he is a backup winger right now. Does this mean he will start in Utica? Possibly. Most likely. Foote loses his waiver eligibility after the 2022-23 season. Unless there’s another team in the NHL that really likes this player, I think he’ll be waived if he’s not made the team outright for the 2024-25 season. He’ll likely be one of the first forwards called up, especially if New Jersey needs a left winger. But if he doesn’t perform like the high-scoring winger you’d expect in Utica, he’ll probably remain the organization’s 13th to 16th forward. Those players do get NHL contracts, but they’re relatively small ones. That’s what Foote got.
With this contract, Fitzgerald still has one RFA player to re-sign for the 2024-25 season: Dawson Mercer. An $850,000 contract for Foote would drop the Devils’ cap hit to just over $4.1 million. If Foote goes to Utica, the Devils’ cap hit would go back up to just over $4.9 million. Is that enough to re-sign Mercer to a contract that satisfies both parties? It could end up being a bridge deal, but it’s important to pay him a reasonable amount to keep the door open for a long-term contract in the future. This could get tight, depending on how much Mercer and his representatives ask for, and how long they’re willing to hold out.
That’s why you might see Fitzgerald try to create some extra space. He could try to waive Nathan Bastien ($1.35 million) or Kurtis McDermid ($1.15 million). Fitzgerald might have to do that, and it would be a blow to his roster and cap management. It’s also why I’ll continue to emphasize that McDermid’s contract stinks like a dumpster full of old diapers. In isolation, it doesn’t seem like a lot of money. All the other smaller NHL contracts add up at other times. LTIR or IR are not guarantees, and the cap is no longer going up in 2024-25. None of this would mean anything if Mercer re-signed for less than $4 million against the cap. Or if Foote ends up being waived and demoted to Utica, where the cap is just over $4 million. At least Foote gets $200,000 for this upcoming season.
Now I want to know what you think. Is this a fair contract for Nolan Foote? Do you think he can break into New Jersey’s lineup over the course of a season and play more than a few games? Will he end up in Utica? If so, will he be one of the team’s leading scorers? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about Nolan Foote in the comments. Thanks for reading.
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