Last night, the New Jersey Devils signed forward Miles Wood to a one year contract worth $3.2M.
Wood, who missed most of last season due to a hip injury, was able to get a deal done before his arbitration hearing which was scheduled this Saturday. Similar to the Jesper Bratt deal, Wood will have a year to prove himself. But unlike Bratt, Wood will be an unrestricted free agency next offseason.
My Take:
This is a true contract year for Miles Wood. He brings an edge and grit that was missed last season. Believe it or not, he is now one of the elder statesmen at the age of 26 for a still young Devils team. He needs to bring that leadership.
Wood needs to get back to his 2021 season where he had 17 goals and was the heart and soul of the team. He has the north/south speed and can crash the net. Will he get the power play time like Nathan Bastian did and cause havoc opposing goaltenders?
The Devils are $341K under the cap according to cap friendly. I would expect some roster moves will be made to make more cap space. And when was the last time that the Devils ownership actually spent up to the ceiling?
Woo Report
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET.