Former San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc will sign a PTO with the New Jersey Devils, THN has learned.
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Labanc played 478 regular season games for San Jose and 30 postseason games. The winger had 82 goals and 143 assists during his regular season career.
He had a career-high of 56 points in the 2018-19 season and signed a one-year, $1 million deal for the following season. In the 19-20 season, Labanc had 33 points in 70 games. He then signed a four-year, $18.9 million contract.
Unfortunately for Labanc, he could never replicate the numbers he had in 18-19 and has hit the free-agent market.
Related: Former Sharks Winger Deserves At Least A PTO Somewhere
Despite working every day in practice, Labanc and former Sharks head coach David Quinn didn’t see eye-to-eye about playstyle, leaving Labanc out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Labanc played 46 games in 23-24 and scored two goals and seven assists.
The 2014 sixth-round pick was part of the Sharks incredible comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored the fourth goal on the major powerplay that gave the Sharks the 4-3 after being down 3-0. He added three assists in the game.
The 28-year-old will join a Devils team looking to return to the playoffs. New Jersey has its top stars, such as Jack Hughes, Jasper Bratt, and Nico Hischier; Labanc could offer a complementary scoring touch to the bottom six.
The Devils are also in a contract dispute with Dawson Mercer. The RFA hasn’t been signed, and while discussions are ongoing between the team and player, nothing has been signed, and there is no timetable for when something will be done.
Friedman on Dawson Mercer/Devils talks (32TP): “I just don’t think there is space for the Devils to do long-term, so I think that’s going to be a bridge”
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) September 14, 2024
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