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The New Jersey Devils once again fell in the playoffs to the Carolina Hurricanes. The team was not looking for a complete overhaul this summer, though. While it was disappointing to exit the playoffs early, the team was also without Jack Hughes, their star player. General manager Tom Fitzgerald has built a roster that can compete in the Eastern Conference. Still, he has yet to take care of a major part of the team.
Fitzgerald joined the franchise in the summer of 2015 as the assistant general manager and was named the GM in 2020. In his time with the franchise, he has made some great moves, such as extending Hughes to a large extension, retaining Jesper Bratt, and trading for Timo Meier. This offseason, he continued making solid moves. The team re-signed Jake Allen to a five-year deal. They also brought in Connor Brown on a four-year deal. One of the top moves may have been adding Evgenni Dadonov on a short-term and low-cost deal.
Regardless of his stellar track record, there is one major transaction that the front office has yet to make this offseason. Failing to do so could have long-lasting negative consequences if not taken care of.
The Devils need to take care of Luke Hughes
Luke Hughes was the fourth overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Devils, placing him on the same team as his brother Jack. After time at the University of Michigan, he would join the team for two games in 2022-23. Since then, he has placed in 153 of the 164 games for the team, scoring 16 times and adding 75 assists. Further, he has been amazing on the power play in his career. Over two seasons, Hughes has four goals and 37 assists on the power play. He became much more involved in the offense this year, seeing his IPP, individual point percentage, increase by nearly twenty percentage points in 2024-25.
It is not just the offensive ability of the blueliner that makes him special. He is also a solid defender. His shot blocks and takeaway numbers have both been stellar in his NHL career. He will be just 22 years old when the season begins and is currently a restricted free agent. The team needs to do whatever it takes to keep him. On a short-term contract, he is expected to cost just $5.75 million, which is within the cap constraints of the franchise.
The front office has looked into the idea of trading Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton is due $9 million this year, so moving him would free up enough cap space to hold on to Hughes long term. While it would not be ideal to trade their other top defender, Hughes would be a long-term upgrade over Hamilton. To start with, Hamilton will be 33 by the end of the season, so he is over a decade older than Hughes. Further, his offensive production has waned somewhat from its peak. The production is still solid, so there will be value for the Devils.
Most importantly, Hamilton has not been reliable. He has played 82 games just once in his four years with the Devils, and has missed 100 games in that time. While Hamilton is still a solid player, the team must bring back Hughes at almost any cost. Ideally, this involves keeping both Hamilton and Hughes. Still, there is one situation in which trading Hamilton would be perfect, in a dream scenario.
Could it be a family affair in Newark?
While bringing back Luke Hughes to remain with Jack Hughes is the necessary move, there is always room for dreaming in the front office. There has been plenty of turmoil in the past few years in Vancouver, including the Vancouver Canucks having to trade away JT Miller due to locker room strife. Quinn Hughes, brother of Luke and Jack, could be available if the team gets off to a bad start. The franchise has signaled that it plans on competing this year with its current offseason moves.
Still, Quinn has noted he wants to play with his brothers at some point in his NHL career. Quinn is the oldest of the three brothers. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by Vancouver. He has just two years left on his contract, and will begin contract extension discussions next summer. Canucks President Jim Rutherford said, “It may not boil down to money with him. He (Quinn Hughes) has said before he wants to play with his brothers.” This means that if the Canucks are struggling, he may not be interested in re-signing. Therefore, a trade may be in the best interest of the franchise.
There is one major step that needs to be made before bringing Quinn into the franchise. That is to re-sign his brother, Luke. The Devils have done a lot of positive work this summer, but not signing Luke Hughes to a new contract is the one glaring mistake so far.
