Damon Severson signs 6-year, $25 million deal with Devils

The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Damon Severson to a six-year contract with a $4.167 million annual cap hit, the team announced Monday. The $25 million deal locks up the blue liner through the 2022-23 season.

Severson, 23, was one of the top remaining unsigned restricted free agents this offseason. An emerging key player for New Jersey on the backend, the team couldn’t afford to have any issues locking him up long-term.

“I don’t really look at it as pressure,” Severson said of his new contract, via NHL.com. “I take it as a vote of confidence from the management and ownership. I just have to have the confidence to know that I can help the team with the skill set I bring and do what I can to keep getting better, and progressing in a way to make this team better.”

In his third season with the Devils, Severson broke out with 31 points in 80 games. He helped quarterback the power play and played over 20 minutes per contest. He’s also consistently been a good even strength possession driver throughout his career with a +4.0 percent Corsi Relative in 203 games, per Hockey-Reference.

However, that didn’t add up to much fun last season as he was a minus-31 on the ice. Not that plus-minus is a great reflection of individual ability, but you have to figure Severson will be shooting to lead the Devils to a bit more success this season.

There are a couple obvious comparable deals for Severson signed recently in Brett Pesce and Brian Dumoulin, as provided by Cap Friendly’s tool. Pesce got a six-year, $24.15 million contract from the Hurricanes. Dumoulin got a six-year, $24.6 million deal from the Penguins.

New Jersey drafted Severson in the second round (No. 60 overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft. He’ll likely open the season on the team’s top pairing with captain Andy Greene.