Devils Make Moves on Day 1 of Free Agency | FEATURE

The Devils wrapped up the opening day of NHL free agency by adding two new players and keeping another in house.

The team started the day by re-signing goaltender Jake Allen, the top goalie free agent on the market, to a five-year deal with a $1.8 million average annual value.

The club followed that by signing winger Connor Brown to a four-year contract with a $3 million AAV and forward Evgenii Dadonov to a one-year deal for $1 million with performance bonuses.

Brown, 31, will be a boost to the team’s bottom-6. He’s a fast, defensively reliable forward that excels on the penalty kill and is versatile enough to move up and down the lineup if needed.

Dadonov, 36, provides a versatile offensive threat. He scored 20 goals last year with Dallas, and has topped the 20-goal mark five times in his career. He can play on a top line with Jack Hughes or add some offensive punch to the bottom-6.

Keeping Allen, 34, helps solidify the goaltending tandem in New Jersey between he and Jacob Markstrom. Together, the duo surrendered the fifth-lowest goals against in the NHL during the 2024-25 season.

Allen was acquired by the Devils at the 2023 NHL trade deadline and it took some convincing to get him to agree to come to Jersey.

"Two years ago at the deadline I called him up before we traded for him to convince him to come here," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald noted. "I said, 'You will be very surprised how happy you will be here. We’re building a good team.' He reminded me of that conversation yesterday, so it was nice.

"Players want to stay here. They want to be in New Jersey. They want to be part of something we’re creating."

Perfect Fit

It’s no secret the Devils wanted to bolster their bottom-6. And they did just that with the signing of Brown.

The nine-year NHL veteran is a perfect fit for the Devils. He can play with speed and he’s defensively responsible. Those are the two biggest attributes needed to play in Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe’s system. And Brown was previously coached by Keefe when they both were with the Toronto Marlies in 2015-16.

“Connor Brown’s a guy who can move around your lineup. He gives you speed, a fantastic penalty killer,” general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. “He’s a guy that Sheldon will use at the end of games as well. Kind of like a Swiss (Army Knife). I’m sure he had offers to go somewhere else. It’s nice when you get handpicked and you can start a conversation, and you sense the excitement of a player, not even knowing about New Jersey other than knowing we have a good team, but wanting to be here. So that was great.”

Brown, 6-foot, 183 pounds, will also bring with him a wealth of playoff experience. In each of the past two seasons, he’s reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Edmonton Oilers.

"Having two devastating finishes the last couple of years, not easy. But it definitely throws a hunger in you," Brown said. "When it looked like it wasn’t going to work out in Edmonton, that was at the top of my list. I want to get back in the playoffs, have a chance to win. I really see this team as an opportunity to do that. I think this team is going to get better and better.

"I’m excited to share my knowledge of experience, what I can bring on and off the ice. I think I fit the team quite well. I’m excited to get going.

Big Daddy

Dadonov is another player that will bolster the club’s bottom-6. He’s got the legs to keep up in the Devils’ system, and more importantly has a scoring touch to help generate goals. One of the Devils’ biggest weaknesses last year was squeezing offense out of their bottom-6. Dadonov is the perfect type of player to help bolster that offense.

“We were trying to fit pieces into the puzzle. It just made so much sense on a performance-based contract where he could fit in and earn some more money,” Fitzgerald said. “Another guy that gives us flexibility, versatility throughout the lineup.”

The Russian native has twice tallied 28 goals in a season and even posted 11 power-play goals on one occasion. He had a few down years with injuries but had a great bounce back campaign in 2024-25 with 20 goals in 80 games. In the past three years, he’s helped the Dallas Stars make deep playoff runs, adding to his own playoff experience.

"I try to be an all-around player. Help offensively and help defensively," Dadonov said. "Playing hard and not cheating is the most important thing for me."

Allentown

Allen, who will be entering his 13^th NHL season, could have tested the free agent market and hit big as the top-rated goalie. However, he opted to remain in New Jersey.

“From the get-go at the end of the season, the ideal world was to find a way to make something work with Jersey,” Allen said. “We found a way to make it work.”

Both Allen and Markstrom will be 35 years old next season, providing veteran leadership in the blue paint with a plethora of NHL experience.

“Like ‘Marky’ said at the end of the year, he’s got a lot of good hockey left in him, and I feel the same way,” Allen said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have signed this deal.”

And for Allen, staying in Jersey gives him all the things he was looking for in his future.

“At this point in my career and life, I just thought this was the right fit,” Allen said. “Being able to stay here for this amount of time with the group that we have, the direction the team's going, with the setup for my family—it checked all the boxes.”