The New Jersey Devils have re-signed rookie forward Nathan Bastian to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $825K and keep Bastian from reaching restricted free agency this summer. He’ll earn $775K in 2021-22 and $875K in 2022-23.
Bastian, 23, was the 41st overall selection in 2016, but is coming off his first full NHL season. The 6’4″ winger scored three goals and ten points in 41 games with the Devils, racking up a team-leading 136 hits. Deployed almost exclusively in defensive situations (more than 69% of Bastian’s zone starts were in his own end), the young forward actually performed pretty admirably.
In fact, there could even be a little more offense to come. Bastian scored 16 goals and 38 points in 62 games for the Binghamton Devils in 2019-20, finding a way to produce while still providing a physical presence every night. If that same growth comes at the NHL level in the years to come, New Jersey could have a very valuable power forward on their hands.
Even if the offense doesn’t really improve though, Bastian looks like a rock-solid bottom-six option for the team, now on an inexpensive deal. He is the latest in a long list of restricted free agents the team will have to deal with this offseason, which includes Nicholas Merkley, Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jonas Siegenthaler, among others.