After months of negotiations, the New Jersey Devils and Damon Severson have agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension worth $4.166 million per ($25 million total).
This is identical to the contract Adam Larsson signed with the Devils a few years ago. The cap was a little bit lower then, so Larsson earned a slightly higher percentage of the dollars available, but Severson did not have arbitration rights, which worked against him a little bit.
The two sides always wanted to get something done long-term and, despite the lengthy wait, negotiations remained healthy throughout.
Simply put, it generally takes time for restricted free agents without arbitration rights to get a deal they feel comfortable taking and there has been no shortage of examples over the last couple summers (Severson, Hampus Lindholm, Bo Horvat, David Pastrnak, etc.).
I think the Devils were smart to take care of Severson now rather than waiting. He is already the best defenseman on the roster and he will only get better with time.
With more talented forwards to move the puck to (Nico Hischier, Marcus Johansson, etc.) his point totals will inevitably rise in the coming years, which would probably make things a little more costly down the road had Severson signed a bridge deal.
I'll go more in-depth on this in the coming days but I really like this deal.