New Jersey Devils sign Brenden Dillon to three-year contract

The New Jersey Devils continue their summer of changes. After already making some big trades recently and signing defenseman Brett Pesce to a six-year contract, general manager Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils stayed busy on the first day of free agency. 

Read: Devils sign Brett Pesce to six-year contract

On Monday, the Devils announced they have also signed defenseman Brenden Dillon to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $4 million. Dillon will make $5 million next season, $4 million in 2025-26 and $3 million in 2026-27.

Dillon is a veteran defenseman with a lot of physicality. The 33-year-old left-hander grew into a physical force once he turned pro, standing 6-foot-4 at 225-pounds. He has played 892 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets. He has 196 points (37 goals. 159 assists), 2,169 hits and a plus-66 rating in that time. 

In 2023-24, Dillon tallied 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) and finished third on the Jets with a plus-20 rating in 77 games. He established a new career high and finished 12th in the NHL with 241 hits and added three assists and 12 hits in three Stanley Cup Playoff games, as the Jets were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

The New Westminster, British Columbia native was originally signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent in March 2011. He played his first four seasons in Dallas during their rebuild before being traded to the Sharks in November 2014 for Jason Demers and San Jose’s third-round pick (Fredrik Karlstrom) in the 2016 NHL Draft. Dillon played six seasons with San Jose and was traded to Washington during the 2019-20 season. After 66 games, he was traded to Winnipeg in 2021. 

In three seasons with the Jets, Dillon recorded 63 points (13 goals, 53 assists) in 238 regular-season games. He added 651 hits, 327 blocks and a plus-38 rating during his tenure with Winnipeg.