NHL

Devils sign Andy Greene to $25 million extension

The Devils signed defenseman Andy Greene to a multi-year contract extension on Wednesday, reportedly a five-year deal worth $25 million, carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $5 million.

Greene has been the team’s top defenseman for the past couple seasons, playing all 82 games last season and leading the Devils in ice time with an average of 24:34 and notching eight goals and 32 points. Greene, 31, was entering the final year of a four-year, $12 million deal.

“Andy has evolved into an all-situation player and that’s a tremendous compliment because there are very few in the league that you can say are all-situation players,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “He can also play both left and right, depending on what is asked of him.

“Andy comes to the rink, does his job day in and day out, and never takes a practice off, never looks left or right and is always focused on what he’s doing. To me, that’s a top-flight defenseman.”

Lamoriello had no update on the contract status of unrestricted free-agent forward Ryan Carter, nor with restricted free-agent defenseman Eric Gelinas.