Devils sign Palat, Capitals add Strome

A day after the New Jersey Devils missed out on the top prize in NHL free agency, they landed two-time Stanley Cup champion Ondrej Palat on Thursday.

The Washington Capitals, meanwhile, continued their busy offseason by signing former Chicago Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome.

The Devils signed Palat to a $30 million, five-year contract. The left-winger had 52 points in 71 games during Tampa Bay’s three consecutive trips to the Cup Final. He finished sixth in Conn Smythe Trophy voting as playoff MVP this year.

Tampa Bay attempted to keep the 31-year-old from Czechia and defenseman Jan Rutta, who signed with Pittsburgh, but couldn’t make the salary cap numbers work. Instead, general manager Julien BriseBois signed defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak and center Anthony Cirelli to eight-year extensions through 2031.

The Devils landed Palat after losing the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Gaudreau signed a $68.25 million, eight-year contract with Columbus after deciding to leave Calgary. His decision came after an initial frenzy of signings, including the Washington Capitals getting Cup-winning goaltender Darcy Kuemper and Giroux leaving Florida for Ottawa.

Strome, who signed for $3.5 million on a one-year deal, became Washington’s latest addition after Chicago decided against a qualifying offer to keep him around. The 25-year-old scored a career-high 22 goals last season and added 26 assists in 69 games.

The Capitals previously signed Darcy Kuemper to be their starting goaltender and Charlie Lindgren to be their backup, re-signed winger Marcus Johansson and defenseman Matt Irwin, and signed two other Blackhawks castoffs, Erik Gustafsson and Henrik Borgstrom. They acquired winger Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators for a 2024 second-round pick.

Ottawa also stayed busy, following up on signing former Flyers captain Claude Giroux by locking up third-year center Josh Norris through the 2029-30 season with a $63.3 million, eight-year…