"It's awesome," Palat said Friday. "I'm really excited that I joined New Jersey. The talk with general manager | Fantasy spin]*
Palat won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Selected by Tampa Bay in the seventh round (No. 208) of the 2011 NHL Draft, he has 423 points (143 goals, 280 assists) in 628 regular-season games and 94 points (48 goals, 46 assists) in 138 playoff games.
Devils genearl manager Tom Fitzgerald said Palat's experience and intelligence put him at the top of New Jersey's offseason wish list.
"He understands what the regular season means, how to get to the playoffs, and the small things," Fitzgerald said. "He's probably the closest thing to a player/coach there is out there because of how he thinks the game, his beliefs in how to practice, the habits and the details you need to create that winning culture. So a championship pedigree was something that was important to me because I know how this is going to pay forward. I believe this is going to pay forward with our younger players."
Palat said it was tough to leave the Lightning after so many years with the organization, but spent last season preparing himself and his family that it could be a possibility.
"Probably the whole year it was in my head, so I was preparing my family that maybe there will be a time that we will leave Tampa after the season and that's what happened," Palat said. "I knew exactly a week ago that I'm not going to sign with Tampa and I'm going to hit the free agency.
"I was sad, I'm not going to lie. Leaving Tampa after 10 years I was sad, but I was kind of preparing myself the whole year that there was going to be a chance I would leave Tampa. It's a business and now when I sign with New Jersey, I'm not sad anymore. I'm really excited to join the team and get the season going."
The Devils made two moves Wednesday; they acquired forward Erik Haula
in a trade with the Boston Bruins
for forward
Pavel Zacha
and signed defenseman Brendan Smith to a
two-year, $2.2 million contract
.
