The Devils are keeping some much-needed offensive arsenal in their forward group.
According to a team press release, the New Jersey Devils have re-signed restricted free-agent forward Arseny Gritsyuk to a three-year contract worth $9.75MM total, with an annual average value of $3.25MM.
Gritsyuk’s base salary will pay him $2.25MM in 2026-27, $2.75MM in 2027-28 and $4.75MM in 2028-29.
The 25-year-old Russian finished his first NHL season, giving New Jersey the depth scoring it needed. His 13 goals for 31 points in 66 games nearly produced a half a point per game pace. He was first on the entire 2025-26 Devils roster in cost-per-point, averaging $30K for every tally on the scoresheet, and ended up fourth on the team in relative expected goals for%. Gritsyuk’s 31 points ranked 13th among all rookie skaters. His six multi-point games ranked in the top 10 for all NHL rookies.
The Krasnoyarsk, Russia native was selected in the fifth round, at 129th overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft. He represented Russia at the IIHF 2019 U-18 World Junior Championship, 2021 World Junior Championship, and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. He helped Russia win silver medals at the 2019 U-18 WJC and at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Gritsyuk ideally wanted more than two years on his second NHL contract in negotiations, according to a report by James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, earlier this summer. This comes quickly after his first North American deal as a one-year, entry-level contract paying $925K. Given his abilities to produce and adjust to the NHL, thanks to playing nearly five years in the KHL, he’s filling out a middle-six that Devils GM Sunny Mehta continues to add to.
The Devils’ forward group, along with its intriguing future outlook, with mainstay players like Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt all inked to long-term deals through 2031, recently brought in forwards Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist via the Jacob Markstrom trade they finalized earlier today.
More to come.
