New Jersey Devils fans have too much time on their hands this offseason. That happens when your team doesn’t make the playoffs. Some are rooting for the feel-good wagon story that has become the Buffalo Sabres. All of us were rooting against the Philadelphia Flyers. Most, if not all, of us were paying attention to the Minnesota Wild and how the results of their playoff run might affect Quinn Hughes, who’s eligible to sign an extension this offseason.
The Wild were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche this past week, and overzealous Devils fans with nothing better to do wasted no time in hoping that meant “Quinn to New Jersey” was still a possibility. Former player turned media personality Paul Bissonette seemed to reject that theory almost immediately the next day on his popular “Spittin' Chiclets” podcast. Bissonette told disappointed Devils fans it’s much more likely Jack Hughes eventually joins Quinn in Minnesota than the other way around.
Bisonette also said a few months back that there were members of the family who wanted to see all three Hughes brothers unite and join forces on the New York Rangers. Optimistic Devils fans are probably thinking, “Well, he’s been wrong about this already, let’s not read into it”. Pessimistic Devils fans are probably thinking, “Wait, that’s now the second time he’s saying Jack will eventually leave New Jersey, should we be worried?”
Missing from all of this is the important fact that Jack has much deeper roots in New Jersey than Quinn has in Minnesota. Younger brother Luke also signed long-term with the Devils the previous offseason. It seems Jack (and Luke) have stronger ties to the Garden State than Quinn has to the state of hockey.
One analyst has clear thoughts on Quinn Hughes's future
Yes, it’s still possible that Quinn signs that extension with Minnesota. It’s still possible that Jack Hughes eventually signs with Minnesota in free agency after his current deal with New Jersey is up. Those are two very real scenarios that would make Devils fans cry in a way they haven’t sign a certain former super star “retired” to Russia.
What we do know is that there is a lot we don’t know. Remember, Quinn can’t sign that extension until July 1st. Even if he’s complimentary in exit interviews about his half-season with the Wild, there are still months before pen can be put to paper and make things official, and things can change until then.
Unfortunately for Devils fans there’s also things helping the “Quinn stays in Minnesota” storyline. With the Wild, he joined Team USA general manager Bill Guerin, and they would forever enter hockey history books, winning gold a few short months later. Guerin has been seen as one of the NHL’s best general managers for his acquisition of Quinn, and it’s hard to imagine that isn’t part of, if not the main, reason Guerin is currently up for the Jim Gregory Award for the NHL’s best general manager (a winner has yet to be announced).
Devils fans were ready to send the plane for Quinn to land in Newark before the handshake line at the elimination game was over. It still goes down as a job costing fumble for former Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald. If Devils fans should blame anyone for the lack of a Hughes trio in New Jersey it’s him, and not Biznasty.
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