Devils trade Pavel Zacha to Bruins for Erik Haula

The Bruins have acquired center Pavel Zacha from the Devils for Erik Haula, the team announced Wednesday.

Zacha, a restricted free agent, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Devils, who drafted him in the first round in 2015. Last season, he scored 15 goals and added 21 assists in 70 games. The 25-year-old averaged 16:51 of ice time per game, including 2:11 on the power play.

Zacha joins a Bruins squad that finished last season with a 51-26-5 record and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Haula, 31, has one season remaining on his contract at $2.375 million annually and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season. He scored 18 goals in 78 games last season as the No. 2 center between Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak.

Zacha is a former international teammate of Pastrnak at the 2014 and 2015 World Junior Championship (Czechia).

The trade comes ahead of NHL free agency opening Wednesday afternoon. For more on free agency, follow The Athletic's live blog here.

(Photo: Ed Mulholland / USA Today)

What does Zacha bring to the Bruins?

Fluto Shinzawa, Bruins beat writer: The 25-year-old Zacha gets a second chance with the Bruins. The No. 6 pick from 2015 becomes one of the younger centers at a position that is graying for the Bruins. Regardless of how the Bruins proceed with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the Bruins are screaming for younger help at center.

“There are going to be days,” CEO Charlie Jacobs said Monday, “when we don’t have the opportunity to talk about Patrice Bergeron coming back to be our captain and No. 1 center.”

Zacha will have every opportunity to log big minutes under new coach Jim Montgomery. Zacha may not be a top-two center. But the Bruins will be satisfied if he can be a consistent all-situations No. 3 center.