The New Jersey Devils re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to a three-year, $8.4 million contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Blackwood, 24, will earn $1.475 million in 2020-21, $2.8 million in 2021-22 and $4.125 million in the final season.
“Mackenzie is going to be one of the key young, core pieces for this organization for a long time and we are excited and extremely happy to have him under contract,” executive vice president/general manager Tom Fitzgerald said in a team statement. “He’s obviously shown that he can be a number one goalie, and the sky’s the limit for him.”
The Devils selected Blackwood in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He has played 70 games with New Jersey, posting a 32-24-8 record with a 2.72 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and five shutouts.
After making his debut on Dec. 18, 2018, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Blackwood usurped Cory Schneider as the starter and enters the new season as the unquestioned No. 1 in goal.
Last season, he went 22-14-8 in 47 games (43 starts) and had a 2.77 GAA. He finished sixth in voting for the Calder Trophy, signifying the NHL’s rookie of the year.
–Field Level Media
