Zajac gets four year deal.

Former Fighting Sioux forward Travis Zajac got a nice raise and avoided arbitration.

The Devils have avoided Friday's arbitration hearing and re-signed restricted free agent center Travis Zajac to a four-year contract worth a total of $15.55 million

Zajac said it is a four-year deal, but would not divulge any other details of the contract.

Zajac, 24, is coming off a breakout season in which he posted career-highs with 20 goals, 42 assists, 62 points and a team-best plus-33 defensive rating.

"He's developed into a core player and getting him long-term I think is good for both him and his growth and for the organization," Lamoriello told me this morning.

Only Monday, Lamoriello said he it appeared as if the sides were headed to an arbitration hearing on Friday in Toronto, but these things have a way of working themselves out in the final days before the hearing and they reached adn agreement late Tuesday night. [Fire and Ice]

Here are some more details on Travis Zajac's new deal. I think the deal that Travis signed could be a gauge for other three year players looking for their first deal as a restricted free agent that scored 60 points the season before.

Zajac signed a four-year contract for a total of $15.55 million or an average -- and cap hit of -- $3,887,500. The new deal pays him $2.75 million in 2009-10, $3.5 million in 2010-11, $4.5 million in 2011-12 and $4.8 million in 2012-13. [Fire and Ice]