Defenseman Joe Morrow signs a new NHL deal but is immediately placed on waivers.

Veteran defenseman Joe Morrow has signed a brand new National Hockey League contract, but it sounds like he may not be staying at the NHL level for very long. 

According to an official announcement from the New Jersey Devils organization on Sunday, the team has signed the 26 year old blue liner to a brand new deal that will see Morrow earning the league minimum, currently $700,000. The Devils are reporting that this deal carries with it a one year term and additionally that it will be a 2-way deal that will pay Morrow $250,000 when he is down at the American Hockey League level. The fact that this deal comes so late into the regular season would appear to be an indication that Morrow's options were limited, so although I imagine he would have prefered a 1-way deal this still has to come as good news for the veteran of over 150 NHL games. 

Perhaps the most interesting part of this announcement is the fact that Morrow will also be up for grabs now that he has been signed, with the Devils also officially announcing that they are immediately placing Morrow on waivers with the purpose of assigning him to the American Hockey League where he will join the Devil's affiliate team the Binghamton Devils should he clear. Although most NHL rosters have already been set Morrow is a serviceable depth addition to an organization and it will be interesting to see if he slips through the waiver process this early in the season or if the Devils move today ends up helping another NHL organization instead.

Morrow is coming off the 2018 - 2019 season where he was a member of the Winnipeg Jets organization, appearing in 41 games for that team while recording 1 goal and 6 assists for a total of 7 points on the season. Morrow also collected a total of 20 penalty minutes on the year and finished this season with a plus minus rating of 0. Morrow was drafted in the 1st round of the 2011 Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins who selected him 23rd overall, and has since gone on to play in NHL games for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and the aforementioned Jets.