Restricted free agent Pavel Zacha has been brought back into the fold one day after Ray Shero was told by Zacha’s agent that the center could sign in the KHL.
Corey Masisak reported on Twitter yesterday that Zacha’s agent had told Shero his client would possibly sign in the Russian league if a deal could not get done.
Today the Devils announced that he has signed a three-year deal (running through 2021-22) with an annual average value of $2,250,000. That breaks down to $1,750,000 in 2019-20, $2,000,000 in 2020-21 and $3,000,000 in 2021-22 for a total of $6.75 million total.
Shero said in the press release that the team was “happy to have finalized this three-year agreement as Pavel is an important part of our team. He has established himself as someone who can play in any situation and we are looking forward to his continued growth as a player.”
Zacha had a career-high 13 goals last year and equaled his career-high point total with 25 according to the press release. Last year also saw him with a three-game goal scoring streak (from November 17 to 21, 2018) where he notched four. He also played in his 200th NHL game on April 4, 2019 at the Hurricanes.
The Brno, Czech Republic native who will turn 23 on April 6, 2020 was the Devils’ first round pick (sixth overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft.