The New Jersey Devils faced Quinn Hughes on Monday night for the first time since they lost the race to acquire his services. While the speculation was that the Devils didn’t acquire Hughes because they couldn’t make it work under the salary cap due to the sheer amount of no-trade clauses on the roster, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald claims that’s untrue.
During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Fitzgerald addressed everything from his own job security, Sheldon Keefe’s job security, Dougie Hamilton’s drama, Jacob Markstrom’s extension, and accountability for he season. It was an all-encompasing session where he was grilled by the local media, even though there was not a previous announcement of it happening.
The topic most NHL fans are interested in is what happened with the Quinn Hughes trade. Everyone believes the Devils were the front runner to get his services, since they currently employee his brothers Jack and Luke Hughes. It felt inevitable at times, and rumors swirled that the Devils had first dibs to make it happen.
Fitzgerald did his best to put cold water on the rumors, but he did directly say that the no-trade clauses did not inhibit their ability to get the eldest Hughes brother.
"I don't want to speculate how close we came. Of course we were interested in Quinn Hughes's services. But I can't speculate on what they got or what they wanted from us. "Tom Fitzgerald, New Jersey Devils GM
Hughes is currently playing incredibly well for the Wild, and they are expected to be in a race for the Stanley Cup. They are one of the best rosters in the league, and they are looking to add even more.
Most can assess that the Devils couldn’t match the Wild’s trade because of the assets they gave up. The Wild got superstar prospect Zeev Buium, young center Marco Rossi, former first-round pick Liam Ohgren, and another first-round pick. That’s essentially four first-round picks for Quinn Hughes. Could the Devils have matched that with their own deal?
The issue for Fitzgerald is that the players Minnesota gave us, their equivalent are impacting the NHL club in New Jersey.
"When you look at some of those players and the ages they are at, those kids are on our team. Those kids aren't prospects. They are starting. Maybe that's a couple of years earlier, but I can't speculate on what type of players went to (Vancouver) versus what players we have. "Fitzgerald, Devils GM
Many have pointed out how impactful a Quinn Hughes trade would have been. The Devils are almost definitely in a playoff position if it happened. However, we might not get the answers we wanted, and there are still dozens of rumors floating around about what really happened, but this was from the GM's mouth.