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The New Jersey Devils were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the NHL playoffs this past season. They have made some offseason moves to ideally make a run in the playoffs in 2025-26. The latest one is the signing of Connor Brown, who inked a four-year, $12 million contract in this NHL Free Agency period.
It has not been a busy summer for the Metropolitan Division squad. The Devils opened their offseason by trading Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators. The deal brought in Jeremy Hanzel on the blueline as a return. They would then re-sign Jake Allen in goal to a five-year deal, while also adding Evgenii Dadonov to shore up the forward depth. They also re-signed Cody Glass to a two-year deal. Still, they could have found a solid bottom-six forward with Brown.
The Canadian-born forward was the 156th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. After finishing his time with the Erie Otters of the OHL, he would spend the majority of the next two campaigns with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Brown would make it to the NHL in the 2015-16 season, playing in seven games with a goal and five assists. The next three seasons, he would play all 82 games with the Maple Leafs. He would be traded in the summer of 2019 to the Ottawa Senators, spending three seasons there. During the 2022 offseason, he would be moved to the Washington Capitals, but play in just four games before suffering a torn ACL. As an unrestricted free agent, he then joined the Edmonton Oilers, where he has spent the past two seasons.
The Devils add forward depth, but at a cost
Brown had a slight rebound of a season this past year after recovering from his torn ACL. This past year, he played in all 82 games while scoring 13 goals and adding 17 assists. While that was an improvement from his 12 points in the 2023-24 campaign, it is a regression from his three seasons with the Senators. Still, the Devils have added a player who could be impactful in the playoffs.
In the 2023-24 Stanley Cup run for the Oilers, the winger put up two goals and four assists, while also being great on the penalty kill. Not only was he solid on the PK, but he scored once shorthanded and added two shorthanded assists. This past run, he was even better. The Canadian scored five times while also adding four assists, good for nine points. The Devils have struggled in the playoffs as of late, being eliminated early in their last two playoff runs. While Brown has not been the star contributor for the Oilers, he has been a solid part of their last two teams that made it to the Cup Final.
Beyond his offensive ability, the winger has been solid on the defensive end of the ice. Last season, he had 37 shots blocked, the second-highest total of his career. Further, he has shown to be solid on the penalty kill. He has 13 takeaways on the penalty kill over the past two seasons. The Devils already had a strong penalty kill, sitting tied for second in the NHL in penalty kill percentage, but adding Brown will add to that solid unit.
Final thoughts and grade on the Connor Brown contract
The contract for Brown will pay $3 million per season in AAV for the next four years. It also contains a no-trade clause for the next two years, which becomes a modified no-trade clause for the two years after that. This is fair value for a player who normally puts up 30 points per season. Since joining the NHL, he has had just one season playing more than 50 games and scoring less than 28 points. Using the baseline of efficiency for an offensive player as one point for every $100,000 of salary, his contract would demand 30 points per season. He hit that last season, and other than the 2023-24 campaign, has hit that almost every year. Even in the year he was slightly under the 30-point mark, he scored playoff points to get him over 30 points overall.
Still, there are some concerns. First, Brown will turn 32 this upcoming season. This means he could be on the decline in his NHL career. He will be 35 by the time the contract finishes. Further, he is primarily a right-wing player. Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt both spent time on that side, but can play the left side if needed. Still, Stefan Noesen and Dadonov are both primarily right-wingers. This places Brown in a third or fourth-line role, most likely.
For Brown, he gets a no-trade clause as part of this deal, and also will be on a team that will contend, something he has become accustomed to recently. Further, he got a major pay raise from last season. He signed a one-year deal with the Oilers in the summer of 2024, earning $4 million, but that was slashed to just $1 million on his deal last year. While this is not the biggest contract of his career, it is a nice pay bump and security after playing last year on much less lucrative deal.
New Jersey Devils Grade: B-
Connor Brown Grade: B+
