Posted on

Colton White Re-Sign

The Devils made a press release today stating that they have re-signed defenseman Colton White. The deal is a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 in the NHL and $90,000 at the AHL level for the restricted free agent.

The 23-year-old blueliner was a fourth-round selection by New Jersey in the 2015 NHL Draft, 97th overall. He has played the past three seasons in Binghamton of the American League. Last season, he had a goal and 11 assists (12 points) over 45 games. The press release mentioned that he had his best AHL season in 2018-19 when he set career highs in goals (seven), assists (23) and total points (30).

The left-shot d-man has 10 goals and 41 assists (51 points) in 163 total AHL games played. He also has 73 penalty minutes.

He made his NHL debut in 2018-19, playing three games for the New Jersey Devils. He finished those three games with two penalty minutes. He also played in six games at the NHL level in 2019-20.

White is a London, Ontario-native and played junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL from 2013 to 2017 according to the press release. It was at the Soo that he led the Greyhounds’ defense with nine goals in 2015-16. That was a career high as were the 26 assists and total 35 points he notched in 68 games for the Hounds that season.

As the release notes, the 6-feet, 1-inch, 185-pounder was named an alternate captain for the Greyhounds in 2016-17. Over his OHL Playoff career, he scored a goal and two assists (three points) over 12 games. His regular season OHL totals read: 21 goals, 72 assists equaling 93 points to go with 86 PIMs over 256 games.

Posted on

Merkley Re-Signs

The Devils put out a press release this morning saying that Nick Merkley has re-signed with the club. His contract is a two-way deal, worth $874,125 at the NHL-level and $70,000 at the AHL-level.

According to the press release and Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald, Merkley will rejoin the team “prior to the start of 2020-21 training camp.” He is currently playing for Assat in Liiga. He currently has two goals and two assists (four points) over seven games in the Finnish league.

Merkley stands 5-feet, 10-inches and is 195-pounds. He was acquired by the Devils in the trade that sent Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. The right-shooting forward “made his Devils debut on February 14, 2020 against Carolina where he recorded his first career NHL point with an assist.” He scored one goal in four more games with the Devils last season.

In the American Hockey League, with the Tucson Roadrunners (Arizona’s affiliate) and Binghamton, he netted a total of 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points over 26 games with Tucson and 28 with the B-Devils. In the AHL all-time, he has 39 goals, 69 assists totaling 108 points over 137 games. He was a 2017-18 AHL All-Star according to the press release.

The 23-year-old Calgary-native was selected 30th overall in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Coyotes. Prior to that, he was a teammate of Devils prospect Nolan Foote and Damon Severson with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. From 2012 to 2017, he had 85 goals, 174 assists, totaling 259 points, leading the Rockets in scoring in 2014-15 according to the presser. He had 20 goals and 70 assists for 90 points that season over 72 games.