Overview
The New Jersey Devils have had a busy off-season. Ondrej Palat was the biggest headline move, while trading for John Marino was a great move in it’s own right. While general manager Tom Fitzgerald has looked to the outside to bolster the team, he had looked inside and locked up one of his own. As Jonas Siegenthaler signed an extension on Tuesday morning.
The deal is a five-year contract extension and carries an annual average salary of $3,400,000 per year. Worth pointing out, the deal does not begin until after next season.
The Numbers
Jonas Siegenthaler had a stellar campaign for the Devils. While not being known for his offensive game, he set career highs for himself. In 70 games played, he scored one goal and set career highs in assists (13) and points (14).
The biggest upside to his game is his shutdown ability. Siegenthaler has cemented himself as a top-four defensive defensemen and was arguably the best in the league in that regard. He is excellent at defending against the rush and suppressing shots.
Siegenthaler led the team in hits (98) and blocked shots (106). Not only great at even strength, he also excelled on the penalty kill.
Siegenthaler does the little things right. As the above tweet points out. All this strong work led to him leading the league in both defensive goals above replacement and defensive expected goals above replacement. He was arguably the league’s best defensive defenseman last year.
Team Outlook
The New Jersey Devils are building something special. Like great Devils teams of the past, they are building from the back end out. The big moves of adding John Marino and extending Jonas Siegenthaler give the Devils a young core that is locked up for the next number of seasons. Like Siegenthaler, Marino is also a good defensive defenseman and if paired together would give the team a legitimate shutdown pair.
Here is how the defensive core currently projects:
| Ryan Graves | Dougie Hamilton |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | Damon Severson |
| Brendan Smith | John Marino |
It’s a major improvement and Tom Fitzgerald deserves to credit where it is due.
Closing Thoughts
This is a great deal, not only for the player but for the Devils. If Siegenthaler can replicate what he did this past year, getting a shutdown defensemen at that rate could become as a steal. The Devils now have the main core of their back end locked up in Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, and John Marino. They also have top prospects, Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, right around the corner.
It is a joyful time to be a Devils’ fan. This team should not only be fun to watch, but also a team that should be much improved.