ESPN Insider Gives the Newest Details on the New Jersey Devils Failed Attempt to Acquire Quinn Hughes

It's been only four days since Quinn Hughes was surprisingly dealt to the Minnesota Wild and not the expected New Jersey Devils. Every day since then, there have been reports about what, potentially, that Devils' general manager Tom Fitzgerald offered to the Vancouver Canucks to try to complete the Hughes trio.

The news pieces continue to portray Fitzgerald in an increasingly unfavorable light to the team's fan base. However, one that was reported recently is causing the biggest uproar from the Devils' faithful.

In an article written by ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, he writes about what the deal likely was from New Jersey to Vancouver for the oldest Hughes. "The belief is that Vancouver would have wanted a package of 21-year-old defenseman Simon Nemec, drafted second overall in 2022; 24-year-old center Dawson Mercer; KHL defenseman Anton Silayev, drafted 10th overall in 2024; and a first-round pick. That package was crafted with the understanding that Hughes was likely to sign an extension with the Devils."

Wyshynski follows that up with ultimately why the Wild were able to jump in and pry Hughes away from the Garden State and bring him to the State of Hockey. "The problem with the Devils' trade bid wasn't necessarily the bid itself -- although, ultimately, Minnesota's offer was better -- but in their inability to clear the necessary salary cap space to take on Hughes' $7.85 million AAV." So, simply put, Fitzgerald failed to acquire a top-three player at his position due to moves he has made over the years. As of today, the Devils are tied for first in the NHL with the most players with a No-Trade or No-Move clause in their contracts, with 14. That's nearly half their main roster. Later on, after posting the article, Wyshynski went to X (formerly known as Twitter) to add on yet another part to the Devils, Quinn Hughes saga.

This all but confirms that Fitzgerald failed to move salary to make a Quinn Hughes deal work. To be fair, the offer that the Wild gave to the Canucks (forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft) was better than the Devils' the true failure is that Fitzgerald gave the Wild too much time to jump into the sweepstakes before he could move other contracts like Ondrej Palat and or Dougie Hamilton. If he had a healthy cap space, it's likely the Devils would've brought Quinn to New Jersey earlier than Friday when he was ultimately dealt. Despite all of this, according to multiple reports, Fitzgerald's job is safe for now.

However, with the failure to bring all three Hughes brothers together in New Jersey, along with the team having one playoff series win in Fitzgerald's tenure, if things don't improve this season, the Devils' ownership might look to make a change in the front office. I would venture a guess that missing the playoffs or another early exit from them without true help to the roster could seal his fate. Fitzgerald knows that despite the laundry list of injuries, he must make moves to push this team towards cup-contending status. He has a lot of work to do to get back in the good graces of the fanbase. The clock is ticking.