As it turns out, the Luke Hughes contract saga may not only be affecting the New Jersey Devils and their plans for the 2025-26 season and beyond.
Hughes, 21, is widely expected to a sign a long-term contract extension with the Devils and become one of the highest-paid young defensemen in the NHL, but there are a few roadblocks for himself and his peers.
Starting this season, Moritz Seider and Owen Power, 24 and 22, respectively, will be making north of $8.35 million, while Noah Dobson's eight-year, $76 million extension ($9.5 million AAV) will kick in in the 2026-27 season.
These all complicate things for Hughes and the Devils. By extension, that complicates things for star Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.
Hutson, Dobson's teammate, is fresh off a Calder Trophy win, scoring six goals, 60 assists, and 66 points while playing in all 82 regular season games for the Canadiens.
Hughes, the same age as Hutson, missed 11 games last season and has yet to break the 50-point threshold for the Devils.
As Cam Robinson of EliteProspects noted on X Saturday, it's likely Hutson doesn't start negotiating a contract extension with the Habs until Hughes signs with the Devils.
"For those waiting on a Lane Hutson extension, don’t expect anything to really get going until his camp sees what Luke Hughes signs for," Robinson posted. "Even then, both sides have viable reasons for waiting until next offseason."
For those waiting on a Lane Hutson extension, don’t expect anything to really get going until his camp sees what Luke Hughes signs for.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) August 23, 2025
Even then, both sides have viable reasons for waiting until next offseason.
Robinson is typically well plugged-in with agents and local sources, so what he's reporting is likely based heavily on what he's heard this summer.
For as much social media banter as there is, Hutson is unquestionably the more accomplished player given the playstyles of the two players. He's got one more year remaining on his entry-level contract, but was eligible to start negotiating an extension with the Canadiens as of July 1.
The same was true of Hughes last year, too, but over a year later, here we are, still waiting just two weeks away from training camp.
At this point, the Devils might actually consider themselves fortunate that Hutson did not re-sign with the Canadiens first.