The New Jersey Devils and Adam Larsson have agreed to a contract extension.
It took a while, but the two sides have reached common ground on a one-year, one-way deal worth $900,000, according to Gunnar Nordström of expressen.se, a Swedish sports website.
Larsson will play in the NHL with the Devils this season. He is no longer waiver exempt, meaning he'd have to go through waivers and clear in order to be assigned to Albany, which simply would never happen.
The translation is a little rough, but here's an interesting blurb from Nordström's story:
To get the 21-year-old Swede to sign the agreement both general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Peter DeBoer called to Adam in Skellefteà¥, where he is on summer holiday, this weekend.
Nordström went on to say that calling Larsson to assure he has a regular spot in the lineup this season was important. With Anton Volchenkov no longer in the picture, he should have no problems getting into the lineup.
Larsson has spent the last two years stuck in a revolving door between Albany and New Jersey, so I think a one-year deal works best for both sides.
If Larsson can fully establish himself as an NHL regular next season, which I fully expect him to do, he'll have a little more leverage in next year's negotiations, and should be able to garner more money and term.
On the other side of the coin, there's no risk from the Devils perspective. If he struggles, they can re-evaluate the situation next summer without being committed to anything long-term.
The team has not announced the extension yet, but I expect that will be done in the coming days.
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