ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the New Jersey Devils have signed forward Stefan Noesen to a three-year, $8.25MM contract. It will be Noesen’s second stint with the Devils organization. They’ve also signed 25-year-old depth forward Mike Hardman to a two-year, two-way deal worth $775K NHL/$350K AHL annually, per PuckPedia.
Noesen spent parts of three seasons with New Jersey the first time around but aside from a good showing in 2017-18, he was largely limited to a depth role. That continued for a few seasons after he moved on to the point where he was primarily a full-time AHL player, not an NHL player.
However, after a dominant showing with AHL Chicago in 2021-22, Noesen got a full-time opportunity with the Hurricanes the following year. He certainly made the most of it, picking up 13 goals and 23 assists in 78 games. The 31-year-old then followed it up with a similar showing last year, tallying 14 goals and 23 helpers in 81 contests despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game of ice time.
More to come…