The New Jersey Devils and defenseman Adam Larsson are nearing an arbitration date, but the club’s general manager Ray Shero seems to believe a deal could perhaps be completed before then, according to NHL.com, via NorthJersey.com.
As per NHL.com, Larsson’s arbitration hearing is July 29. In his fourth season with the Devils, the 22-year-old blue liner scored three goals and had 24 points -- both career highs -- in 64 games.
“I think we’ll get a deal done,” said Shero.
“We have time before the arbitration date certainly and we’ll see where that leads us, but the goal with [Eric] Gelinas was to try to agree to a deal we’re both happy with and it’s the same thing with Larsson. I had a conversation with [agent] J.P. Barry again [Thursday] and I hope within the next few days to have an idea where we’re going. We’ve talked about a lot of different things.”
Larsson, taken fourth overall in the 2011 NHL Draft and now a restricted free agent, was one of two Devils’ players to originally elect for salary arbitration.
The Devils avoided arbitration with defenseman Eric Gelinas earlier this week by re-signing him to a two-year contract extension worth $3.15 million.
According to Tom Gulitti for The Record, the Devils also re-signed defenseman Seth Helgeson to a two-year contract.