Damon Severson: a big eight-year contract and a deal in Columbus

It had been a long time since Damon Severson was in New Jersey. The Canadian defenseman, who was here in 2014-2015, was about to become a free agent, and clearly his future lay elsewhere than Newark.

The 6’2 right-hander had seasons of 33 and 46 points and was going to be in demand.

So the club gave the player a chance to see if he had any options on the table, and clearly, he did. He signed an eight-year, $50 million contract with the Devils, who immediately sent him to Columbus, Ohio.

In the end, that’s what he wanted.

What you need to know is that signing before becoming an autonomous player allows him to have the eighth year of his contract. On July 1, this would have been impossible for him.

Remember that you can only sign for eight years with your team.

And the Devils, in exchange for negotiating rights, got a third-round pick. That’s why it happened the way it did… and it’s better than losing him for nothing at all.

The sign-and-trade trend, as seen in the NBA or with Matthew Tkachuk last year, is very interesting.

Obviously, the advantage for Columbus is that the player won’t become autonomous and he wants to sign there right away. This opportunity was too good to pass up.

Paying a third-round pick is the lesser evil.

The Jackets also acquired Ivan Provorov just this week. The club was looking for reinforcements on the blue line to avoid ending up in the lower echelons of the NHL.

And the club’s top-4 is well on its way.

Werenski-Severson
Provorov-Jiricek

In a division that may be getting less and less interesting, the Blue Jackets (under Mike Babcock…) are giving themselves the means to have a great season – on paper, at least.

Will it work?

Johnny Gaudreau must be happy.

Let’s also remember that the Blue Jackets will be drafting third overall in three weeks, in Nashville. Will the rumours that the pick is available create another coup?

In a gaggle

– 30 years already…

– Who are the Mooseheads’ owners?

– Interesting.

– Ducks won’t take over management of last year’s Evgenii Dadonov deal. [RDT]

– Yes, small players are hot.

Jonathan Marchessault on the influence of Marty St. Louis.

👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/06JjVIaGZR

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) June 9, 2023