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Patrik Elias Signs Multi-Year Extension, Johan Hedberg to be Bought Out

July 4, 2013, 12:05 PM ET [70 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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The New Jersey Devils have signed veteran winger Patrik Elias to a multi-year extension, according to Rich Chere.

Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti is reporting that Elias' extension with the Devils is a three-year deal worth $16.5 million. That averages out to be $5.5 million per season.

Elias, 37, will be 40 when his contract expires.

Whether he retires after that remains to be seen, but it appears likely that Elias will play his entire career with the Devils.


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Johan Hedberg's days as a member of the New Jersey Devils are done.

Today it was announced that the Devils have placed the 40-year-old netminder on waivers with the intention of using one of their two compliance buyouts on him.

If an NHL franchise wanted to buyout a player they had to be on waivers by noon eastern time, otherwise teams couldn't buy players out until next offseason without having their salary count against the cap.

Hedberg showed nothing but class as a member of the Devils organization and was very good for the Devils in his first two seasons with the team. He struggled a bit this past season but the Devils didn't provide him with any goal support at all, which made his job a lot harder than it should have been.

I think Hedberg still has a good year left and could be a solid backup for a team looking for one, like the Nashville Predators or perhaps even Philadelphia Flyers.

I wish Hedberg nothing but the best going forward. While I've been covering the team from afar, it was quite clear that Hedberg handled himself with nothing but class and that he was loved by his teammates.

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I take an in-depth look at the Cory Schneider trade.

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