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Devils Links
ICYMI: Priority No. 1 is finally handled. Luke Hughes gets a seven-year deal:
“(Luke) Hughes is an elite skater, especially for someone who measures 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds. He’s dynamic with the puck, and his offensive toolkit should continue to improve. There’s everything to suggest he’ll break out eventually.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]
The countdown is on!
Paul Cotter, Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer each had goals, Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 of 20 shots and the Devils took a 3-1 win over the Rangers on Thursday. [Devils NHL]
Very funny moment at the end of Thursday’s game:
Hockey Links
Jackson LaCombe gets an eight-year deal:
As does Niko Mikkola:
“According to Sportico’s annual team valuation rankings released Wednesday, the average NHL franchise is now worth an estimated $2.1 billion. This is up 17 percent from last year at this time and more than 100 percent from 2022, when the average team value was only $1.01 billion.” [The Athletic ($)]
“Kirill Kaprizov didn’t just reset the NHL marketplace by securing a record-shattering extension from the Minnesota Wild. He triggered an earthquake that is likely to produce reverberations across the industry. The Athletic spoke with seven certified player agents immediately after Kaprizov’s $136 million, eight-year extension ($17 million average annual value) with the Wild broke Tuesday morning to gauge what they think of the contract and how they see it affecting their clients down the road.” [The Athletic ($)]
Who seems primed to regress this season? [ESPN]
“The calculus has changed, and players need to be careful about giving up years of service if they believe they can be stars. Young guys need to be careful with the term they give away, because for those guys in this new salary cap world, the sky’s the limit.” [Sportsnet]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.