This entire offseason has been about the Hughes brothers for New Jersey Devils fans. It started when the Vancouver Canucks season ended. It was clear nobody in that locker room was happy they missed the playoffs, and the drama went to a full boil by the time it was over. During the end-of-season press conference, Canucks President Jim Rutherford outright admitted that Quinn Hughes wanted to play with his brothers, even inferring he could get Jack and Luke Hughes to play in Vancouver.
The ongoing Luke Hughes contract negotiation continued the conversation. He remains unsigned despite training camp starting next week. It’s starting to get close to panic time on Luke Hughes’s situation.
Jack Hughes has largely been out of the spotlight. That was until a report by NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky claimed that Luke Hughes and his camp were looking for a five-year deal. That would take the youngest Hughes brother right to unrestricted free agency. It also matches his deal to Jack Hughes’s free agency, sending both brothers to the open market at the same time.
Jack Hughes is representing the Devils at NHL media days, and he spoke with The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun. With so much stress within the fanbase, they are hanging on his every word. So when Hughes even alluded to the possibility he could play somewhere else one day, the fanbase was not happy, and other fanbases couldn’t help but jump all over it.
"Honestly, I'm not afraid to say it. Yeah, I would love for Quinn to -- eventually I'd love to play with him. And whether that's in New Jersey or at what time that takes, at some point I want to play with Quinn. But yeah, that's the question going around. They talk all day about it up in Vancouver, you know? But yeah I'd love to play with Quinn at some point."Jack Hughes to The Athletic
Don't worry too much about Jack Hughes's words, focus more on the context
For one, Hughes is signed for five more seasons. Is it possible he's already planning where he wants to go with his free agency? Maybe, but it's much more likely he's plotting how to get his third brother where the other two stars already are. Even if somehow the Devils sign Luke Hughes and Jack Hughes to walk them to free agency together, Quinn Hughes still gets there three years earlier.
We can't see Quinn Hughes going anywhere else but New Jersey at this point. It's possible, but it's hard to visualize.
As for Hughes playing elsewhere, the one way to keep him from leaving is by winning. The Devils have not won nearly enough with Hughes and Nico Hischier on the roster. Winning one playoff series and making the playoffs twice in that span is why this question is even on the table. Nobody is talking about Cale Makar or Nathan MacKinnon's impending free agency. That's because the Avalanche are focused on winning.
So don't focus too much on the nuances of Hughes's words. He wants everyone to play in New Jersey. The most obvious reason he worded his answer the way he did is he knows that the league is looking into tampering more closely, and they likely have a microscope on top of the Quinn Hughes situation.
There is nothing to worry about. Honestly, if the Devils sign Luke Hughes to an eight-year deal, the conversation dies. Fitzgerald should just give Luke Hughes the price he needs to make it happen.