New Jersey Devils sign Chris Tierney to one-year, $775,000 contract

Tierney, 29, was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year, $750,000 contract that he originally signed with the Florida Panthers in the 2022 offseason, but finished with the Montreal Canadiens after they claimed him on waivers in February. His new deal is a two-way contract, so while he’ll make the full $750,000 in the NHL, his salary drops to $400,000 in the AHL.

Tierney had his least productive season in the NHL in 2022-23, although that was partially due to not getting into too many games with the Florida Panthers, as he played just 13 games and had two goals, an assist, and three points during his time there. He did see more action with the Montreal Canadiens, playing 23 games in the final couple months of the season and getting a goal, six assists, and seven points with them, giving him 3 goals and 10 points in 36 games on the year as a whole.

Tierney was a second-round pick of the Sharks in 2012, and played for four seasons with them before he was dealt to the Senators as part of the return for Erik Karlsson in 2018. He spent the next four seasons in Ottawa before he went to unrestricted free agency and signed his previous deal with the Panthers.

The Devils had a quiet offseason in terms of moves, opting to focus on retaining their key players in Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier than throw money at a middling free agent class, even dealing away a couple of their pending free agents in Damon Severson and Mackenzie Blackwood for draft picks. They did make a few trades to improve their team, adding Colin Miller for a fifth-round pick and Tyler Toffoli for Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick. They currently have just under $5 million in cap space, with only defenseman Kevin Bahl left of the restricted free agents on their NHL roster.