New Jersey Devils claim two of the NHL's best contracts (and avoids one of the worst)

The New Jersey Devils have made it a point to avoid the detrimental contracts that make it hard to do business. Yes, they have some stinkers on the books. Many will point to Ondrej Palat’s $6 million average annual value, but he’s not even close to one of the worst contracts in the league. Then, there are the contracts for the team’s foundational pieces. Right now, he has Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton in the middle of deals that were originally seven or more years long. 

Taking a risk and giving out term to young players has led to Tom Fitzgerald negotiating two of the best contracts in the NHL today. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn just wrote a piece using his analytics model to showcase the best contracts in the NHL. To nobody’s surprise, Jack Hughes was second on the list. 

Jack Hughes signed an eight-year deal in the middle of his third NHL season. That deal was worth $8 million per season. It seemed like a hefty deal for a player who hadn’t hit 40+ points in a season. However, the underlying numbers were pretty clear. Hughes was on the precipice of superstardom. 

The New Jersey Devils are proud owners of two of the best contracts in the NHL.

Despite being named the second-best contract in the league, this is actually a demotion. Last year, Hughes was named the very best contract in the league. Surprisingly, this year’s best contract goes to Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers. He literally just signed the contract, and it was a clear discount to keep playing in the Sunshine State.

The Devils still have six years on the Jack Hughes contract, and the cap is only going up. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that his next contract will be paying him double. With a cap that could hit $100 million and a new collective bargaining agreement, contracts could explode over the next few years. Hughes’ deal will be discussed for years as a massive steal as he continued to be Captain America for New Jersey.

Luszczyszyn was pretty blunt about why this contract is great now, and why it could be even better as time goes on.

Average it all out and Hughes comes in as a $14.2 million player. He’s not that yet, but in a growing cap environment, there shouldn’t be much doubt that a 23-year-old franchise star will get there. If he takes another step toward MVP level (a Net Rating north of plus-25), his $8 million deal will feel like chump change.

The other Devils star mentioned on the list is Jesper Bratt. The Devils star winger signed an eight-year deal worth $63 million total last season. He responded to his new contract by being the one player on the Devils who didn't take a step back. Bratt had a career-high 83 points last year, and once the Devils power play goes nuclear, that number could rise to 100.

While the Devils were smart to give their young stars "big" money when it became available, the smartest move the Devils made was the contract they avoided. Damon Severson could have become a lifelong Jersey boy. That emotional connection often leads to mistakes. Drafting and developing a player can lead to big contracts for those who are only above average.

Last offseason, many were concerned about losing both Ryan Graves and Severson in the same offseason. That doesn't matter. The contracts they both signed were impossible for Fitzgerald. Severson was actually signed by New Jersey, and then traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a third-round pick.

The Jackets were on the hook for a deal worth $6.3 million for seven more seasons. New GM Don Waddell was probably trying to get out of this before it's a complete albatross, but there were no biters. The Athletic ranks this as the fifth-worst contract in the NHL.

Contracts are a fickle beast for GMs to tackle. NHL Free Agency always breeds overpayments. We saw it with Brenden Dillon and Stefan Noesen, but getting those players without giving up assets is a huge plus. Still, Fitzgerald has been able to assess the team's needs and work the salary cap properly. It all starts with avoiding any contracts that hit eight digits in AAV.