New Jersey Devils Should Sign Jack Hughes Now

The New Jersey Devils this offseason made big moves to fix the defense, added Tomas Tatar to the offense, finally solidified the backup goalie position (although we said that last offseason), and they drafted Luke Hughes with the fourth-overall pick. That last piece of information is really important for the New Jersey Devils when it comes to its star Jack Hughes. The Devils’ former number-one overall pick is still on his entry-level deal, but he could sign a new deal this summer if he so pleases.

The Devils should be pushing for a new deal with Hughes. Very often, teams sign players to a deal too early and it ends up working out for said team. Sometimes it works out terribly, but that often deals with players who sign for middle-tier contracts. Hughes is going to be a superstar if everything works out.

The Colorado Avalanche signed Nathan MacKinnon to a deal a little early, and they got him locked up for seven years with an average annual value of $6.3 million per season. The Avs are paying one of the best players in the world half of what he is worth. The same goes for the Boston Bruins, who paid Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Brandon Carlo early. Now, none of them make more than $6.66 million per season. The Tampa Bay Lightning paid Victor Hedman right when he was hitting his peak. He makes $7.8 million every season, but as one of the best defensemen in the league, it’s an incredible value. Seth Jones, Dougie Hamilton, Zach Werenski, and Cale Makar all made $9 million and more this offseason.

The Devils made a point to try this when they signed Nico Hischier to a seven-year deal worth just over $7 million per season. The long-term deal will work out as long as Hischier stays out of the infirmary. This team should be looking to do the same thing with their other star center.

The Devils know that Hughes has something great in him. Hughes was on the cusp of superstardom last season before he was hit with COVID. Before the team’s bout with COVID, Hughes had eight points in nine games to start the season. That included an epic two-goal performance against the New York Rangers.

What should Hughes’ contract look like? Tom Fitzgerald should start by handing Hughes Nico’s contract and see what he says. He probably wants more, so Fitzgerald could add on an extra year. The Devils drafted his brother, and the team is building something. They are fixing the problems, and the Devils are showing they are willing to throw money at issues.

If the Devils can come to an agreement in the eight-year, $68 million range, the Devils probably say yes to that. It’s obviously an overpay right now, giving Hughes $8.5 million over the next eight years, but it could work out to be a really good deal if he continues to grow. The marketing aspect of the Hughes brothers is something the Devils should lock up as soon as possible.