The New Jersey Devils still have not signed defenseman Luke Hughes to a new contract.
There has been lots of speculation swirling around over the past few months about this.
Over a month ago Devils’ General Manager Tom Fitzgerald said that “signing Luke Hughes is my #1 priority.”
It is August 5th and there is still no deal.
Lots of NJ Devils fans want to see this announced ASAP.
There may be some hold ups behind the scenes.
The NHL is going through a bit of a transition phase right now, with the salary cap expected to continue to escalate into the future. As a result, players and their agents want to secure their rightful piece of the pie and not leave too much money on the table.
The Athletic put out an article last week talking about the best value contracts in the NHL.
Jack Hughes was #1 on the list. His agent Pat Brisson (NHL super agent) likely wasn’t happy to see that.
You can read the article below:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6513956/2025/07/29/nhl-best-contracts-2025-jack-hughes-brandon-hagel/
Elliotte Freidman discussed the list and it’s potential impact on contract negotiations across the league in his latest “32 Thoughts” Podcast. I share a clip of the most relevant portion of it in this video. You can listen to the full podcast below:
Hopefully Luke Hughes is signed soon and is a big part of the New Jersey Devils for years to come.
What do you think about all of this NJ Devils fans?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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21 Comments
Booze Face the BUM, obviously does not know what he is doing.
Booze Face Fitz is too busy getting bombed drunk while muttering "What IS depth scoring?"
Trade Luke to Vancouver for Quinn. Problem solved
The 15.6 million for Jack adds up. He plays about half the games so the 8 million per is right in line. Joking aside, I find it pretty funny discussing how great Jack’s deal is when he is one of the most injury prone players in the league. There’s no value if you don’t play.
Luke is Fitz's ONLY priority. This is the scapegoat to not have to do anything else this offseason. Wait until the 11th hour, then say you couldnt do anything else until that got done. Loser GM, loser ownership.
I like the charts and graphs. Thing to remember about the "value" is that it's what he would be worth and get were there no salary cap or restrictions on negotiation (everyone a UFA) and I don't think it includes term considerations (guys slowing up in final years of contract). That's why the value looks juiced so much. With no salary cap or RFA restrictions, Jack probably would get that much in the market. That's my educated guess on these Athletic models but the thing to remember (or critically evaluate) is that the analytics say Jack is a star offensive player (borderline super star) AND elite defensively maybe even Star level defensively when factoring what he brings in terms of puck possession. That is the claim.analyrics people make.
Draisatl is a better offensive player right now (ridiculously great there) but has defense liabilities. He got $14 million as a UFA and it was considered a team discount. He's not a center and Hughes is. And Hughes helps keep pucks out of our net by puck possession stuff and defensive ability.
Athletic is not that crazy. But the thing to think about is how much Jack helps keep the puck out of our net. People miss that about Dougie as well, his passing drives pick possession.
Totally agree with your point that we he had done before signing the contract needs to be factored in. It was fair at the time.
4М per year or trade him. Overrated
Anything under 9M for Luke with 7 years i'd be a happy bunny,
but considering TOR managed to get 2 of its core guys Down on team Friendlies, it'll really just show up fitz More if luke gets him Over a barrel
Much ado about nothing. Luke will be locked up before the season begins, and that's all that matters. He also isn't going to nickel and dime the Devils too bad, because he knows he needs to save cap space for Quinn.
Picked a bad time to get a Luke Hughes jersey. Sorry guys, I think I might have jinxed it.
Also possible they've agreed on one of 2 options, short term as a safety net or long term, but a contract has to be moved out. Signing it or announcing it would def make devils lose any and all leverage they may have to move a contract out if other teams know it is to be done to be cap compliant. Jacks been vocal about guys getting a deal done with implying team friendliness and i think that coming from his brother has more weight than luke's agent. I think its a long term deal but they are trying to clear some space first
Problem is. They see the same problems with health as Jack. Two marque players with huge question marks on staying healthy is a bad bad idea.
Plus with the albatross that is Hamilton / Pallot (FITZ the PUTZ to blame there) they don't even have the cap left for a long term deal.
I am glad for once they didn't just give away the castle. Jack had injury issues before his "best contract in NHL" and I doubt he will see a full season ever. He's at like 60 a year or so depending on how you count playoff games into the mix.
FITZ sucks. He is timid and panics. See Hamilton / Pallot for the results.
Meire. Let's discuss his performance that jumped off a cliff. That's a trend you don't pay top dollars for. But hey. Cap is up right ? Waste some more. LoL
I feel like Jack contract in that list 100% set Luke’s contract back… I would honestly give 8.5 x 7/8 but I feel like it’s gonna be higher. I judge guys for this too as a non professional athlete this kind of money all just seems like a lot to me like taking 7 million versus taking 10 million sounds great, you still get a godly amount of money that sets you and your family up for life, and helps the team go and get better. The Florida panthers did this, all their players resigned for team friendly deals, nobody makes more than their captain, and they have a massive chance of winning 3 cups in 3 years.
I’m so pissed and somehow expected this exactly, when Fitz said that his contract was his “number one priority” I litterally didn’t expect him to sign him soon, that is the most Fitz move ever. But great video! I need the Luke contract done soon, and done BEFORE training camp🙄
Also, a short term can NOT be the move what so ever because if Luke becomes an RFA I bet the Canucks gm is going to offersheet him. And this obviously aside from the number going up.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing: GREED. Poor Jack! Only 64 million?!? So far, he’s lost a FULL season to injury, as well. Gimme a fuggin break with this nonsense Meanwhile, how many fans have been frozen out of going to games, because of the outrageous cost of not only tickets, but the laughable price of concessions.
Ace we are 6 weeks away from devils hockey i am sorta excited to see how this devils squad plays this season with 2 new addictions. but i also do wonder what will happen to Luke, if we don't sign him in time does he stay where he is or can he be resigned i hope Fitz can figure something out before its to late.
my worst nightmare is that luke will sign for 5 years at an insane cap hit and then walk to free agency in the same season as jack
If players are actually upset about being on team-friendly contracts, they ought to be more grateful and grounded, and realize that most doctors don’t even make that much. I understand wanting to be competitive with other players, but I also wonder how much a particular agent could be trying to run up the price and how they might be (or not be) managing the client’s expectations. If this agent wants to promise the client (Luke) the world, and the narrative is that the market is being “reset” because the cap is going up, then it’s bad for the team overall – as you said, “the wrong way to look at” being successful in your career. Look at the Panthers.
Complete failure on toms part here this should’ve been done in first week of July, then his excuse for not doing anything else ohhh the luke contract smh
Although I'm going to see them in December, im less excited for this season than I was for last season. Such a stagnant off-season.
Luke Hughes will go to play with his other brother, if our GM drags his feet. Indecisive management.is what we have here in New Jersey. .
Can't wait to start the season with Luke holding out and Cody Glass as the Devils 3rd C. Fitz needs to stop grab@ssing and do his job!