5 Contracts New Jersey Devils Can Use In Jack Hughes Negotiations

Tom Fitzgerald made some amazing moves this offseason for the New Jersey Devils. We’ve talked at length about changing the team entirely in one offseason. The team hasn’t played a game yet, so there is a lot to prove still, but there’s no way this team is as bad and more importantly as boring as it was last season.

This offseason was important for Fitzgerald. He became the long-term GM after signing a one-year GM deal after taking over for Ray Shero last year. That was really important for him personally, but as for the team itself, the most important move he has to make is coming next. Fitzgerald has to negotiate the first big contract for Jack Hughes.

The Devils just drafted Hughes’ brother Luke with the fourth-overall pick in the NHL Draft back in July. His reaction showed how happy he is to have his brother on this team. I’ve said before that the Devils should make it a priority to come up with a contract extension with Hughes now. Waiting will only hurt them, but it might be in Jack Hughes’ best interest to wait, and his family has been extremely business savvy with the three Hughes brothers so far.

Quinn Hughes is actually going through a pretty rough negotiation with the Vancouver Canucks. We are quickly approaching training camp, and neither Hughes nor Elias Pettersson are signed. The Canucks have around $10 million in space to fit both of them. It’s definitely possible, but they will both be extremely short-term deals.

Jack Hughes watching how annoying this is for his brother could push him to sign a deal now. It’s not like that’s out of the ordinary. He has plenty of deals to look at to compare to his situation. He even has one in his own locker room.