“During his time in New Jersey Travis Zajac has become a solid, all-situation player and one of the core leaders of our hockey club,” said Devils team president and GM Lou Lamoriello in a team statement.

Zajac becomes the first player to sign a max deal under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. A player can re-sign with their own team for eight years. If Zajac had become a free agent this summer, he could’ve signed elsewhere for seven years. Teams have the edge in retaining players due to the extra year.

It was vital for the Devil organization to get this done. Especially in light of losing top scorer Zach Parise to Minnesota. They can now turn their attention to David Clarkson, who’s in the final year of his contract. He’s set to earn a pro-rated $3 million. Hasan will have more on this breaking story later.