For those patiently or impatiently waiting for Luke Hughes to re-sign with the New Jersey Devils, the good news is potentially right around the corner following the Labor Day holiday on Monday.
According to NHL insider David Pagnotta, via aggregation on NHLRumors.com, things could accelerate between Hughes, the Devils, and agent Pat Brisson shortly after the holiday in order to have things settled before training camp begins.
"Well, I mean, they definitely discussed both scenarios, both options, in terms of long versus taking a bridge-type contract moving forward. And, he’s 21, with the way the salary cap is going, a shorter-term deal to keep him within RFA status might be the way to go. But, we’ll kind of see where things end up."
Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com previously reported that Hughes's camp was looking for a five-year deal, which would take him to free agency in 2030 with older brother Jack Hughes.
As for what Pagnotta is thinking, Luke Hughes will become a UFA in 2030, so any deal the Devils give him to keep him within RFA status is going to come in at four years or less. And, at that point, it's likely that such a deal drives up Hughes's AAV, which would result in the Devils needing to make a trade to clear some salary cap space, at least for the short term.
"We know his brother obviously signed a long-term deal on his last one. But a lot of guys take that bridge deal out of entry before deciding to commit long term, so he could go in that direction," Pagnotta continued. "I don’t think there’s a concern on really, either side that they’re not going to be able to get something done by the time camp gets going in a little over, what, two weeks, two, three weeks.
"I think Luke and his agent, Pat Brisson, and the guys at CAA understand where they’re at. And obviously, the goal is to make sure that he’s ready and ready to go for camp. . . Everybody likes to work with a deadline. Once we get through Labor Day, I think we’ll see some positivity in that regard for Devils fans that understandably have been frustrated this summer in that regard.”
The Devils, of course, just went through this process with Dawson Mercer, and that didn't turn out so well for either so far. Jeremy Swayman just had a terrible season for the Boston Bruins, too, and he signed his long-term deal.
Time will tell if recent precedent and the looming start of training camp are motivation enough to get pen to paper for Hughes and the Devils.