According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the New Jersey Devils are closing in on a seven-year, $63MM contract with their lone remaining restricted free agent, Luke Hughes. The Devils quickly confirmed the contract, also sharing that Hughes will join the team for practice tomorrow.
Shortly after New Jersey’s confirmation, PuckPedia announced Hughes’ contract details:
- Year 1: $8MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
- Year 2: $8MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
- Year 3: $9MM salary
- Year 4: $9MM salary
- Year 5: $9MM salary
- Year 6: $9MM salary, 10-team no-trade clause
- Year 7: $9MM salary, 10-team no-trade clause
After forward Mason McTavish agreed to a six-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, the contract dispute between Hughes and New Jersey became the longest one from the offseason. Recently, there was concern that the standoff might prevent Hughes from starting the year on time. After this morning’s announcement, we know that won’t be the case.
The $9MM AAV will tie Hughes with Dougie Hamilton as the highest-paid player on the Devils. Additionally, the seven-year deal makes Hughes the only player on the team signed beyond the 2030-31 NHL season.
Most importantly, it’ll take Hughes through most of the prime years of his career. He’ll have the opportunity for another payday upon the deal’s expiration after turning 29 years old, though the Devils will reap all the benefits from his age-22 to age-28 seasons.
Over the past two years, similarly to his brothers Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, Luke has shown a keen ability to move the puck and generate offense. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, the former fourth-overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft has scored 16 goals and 91 points in 153 games, with four goals and 41 of those points coming on New Jersey’s power play. A gradual introduction to the NHL was unnecessary for the offensive-minded defenseman, as Hughes is already averaging more than 21 minutes of action a night.
Still, the Devils will hope for some maturity on the defensive side of the puck as he progresses through his career. Despite averaging a 54.3% CorsiFor% at even strength, Hughes’ 88.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength leaves much to be desired. Still, New Jersey has offset most of Hughes’ defensive shortcomings by placing him next to Brett Pesce, who’s been one of the most defensively acute blue liners for the past decade. The pair combined for a 53.1% xGoals% last season, according to MoneyPuck.
The Devils still have some work to do with their available salary cap space. The team is expected to place defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic ($4MM AAV) on long-term injured reserve to start the 2025-26 campaign, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery. As James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now points out, the Devils will only save approximately $3.8MM of Kovacevic’s salary per the new rules of the CBA, projecting them $183K over the upper limit to start the season.
That financial gap is more than manageable, and it’ll give New Jersey time to work out a larger cap-clearing deal. The two likeliest candidates are Hamilton and Ondrej Palat, though both have limited no-movement and no-trade protection in their contracts. Still, by having Hughes in the mix for the next seven years, the Devils are in a much better position than they were yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.