The New Jersey Devils swapped forwards with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, trading winger Pavel Zacha for center Erik Haula in a deal completed less than an hour before the NHL's free agency period opened.
The move balances out the Devils' lineup with New Jersey in the mix to land forward Johnny Gaudreau, one of free agency's top prizes after he turned down an offer to re-sign with the Calgary Flames.
Haula has nine seasons of NHL experience and joins his fifth team since opening the 2019-20 campaign with the Carolina Hurricanes.