As the New Jersey Devils continue their training camp and play through their slate of preseason games, they do so without a notable name: Luke Hughes. Hughes remains a restricted free agent without a contract for this upcoming season, and today The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Hughes’ camp and the Devils remain “a ways apart” in their contract talks. LeBrun added that the two sides talked Monday and negotiations remain “amicable.” But while the two sides have agreed to pursue a long-term contract extension, the parties have not been able to agree on an AAV for that potential deal.
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald had previously expressed optimism that the looming presence of the start of training camp would help move talks along and eventually lead to a signed contract, but that did not end up happening. It does appear, based on LeBrun’s reporting, that there has been some progress at least. Previous reports indicated that the Devils were looking to sign Hughes to a contract of either a two or eight-year term, whereas Hughes had his sights set on a five-year term that would walk him right to unrestricted free agent status. But according to LeBrun, the term of the contract is no longer the sticking point of the negotiation – it’s the value of the deal.
Hughes, 22, has had an exceptional start to his NHL career with two consecutive seasons of exemplary point production for a young defenseman. The 2021 fourth-overall pick had a 47-point rookie season, after which he finished third in Calder Trophy voting and with a spot on the league’s All-Rookie team. Hughes scored 44 points in 71 games in his second year in the NHL, and looks every bit like a future star offensive defenseman.
His defensive contributions are not as highly regarded, but he did lead all Devils defensemen in time-on-ice per game as a rookie (21:28) indicating coaches do have some genuine level of trust in his play, even if he’s not a true shutdown force.
The combination of Hughes’ young age and his already very strong NHL resume naturally means he’s likely looking to secure a significant financial commitment on any long-term deal, especially given how the salary cap is set to rise in coming seasons.
While there has been no firm reporting that this is the case, it’s possible Hughes and his representation (Pat Brisson of CAA) are approaching these deals with a heightened level of caution because of the long-term deal Luke’s brother Jack Hughes signed with New Jersey after his own. In late 2021, Hughes signed an eight-year deal carrying an $8MM AAV, and for much of that contract Hughes’ on-ice value has certainly exceeded that cap hit. It would be entirely fair to speculate that the immense surplus value the Devils continue to receive from Jack Hughes’ contract has led the Hughes camp to more aggressively price future years on any Luke Hughes extension.
AFP Analytics currently projects Hughes’ worth on an eight-year contract extension to be $8.386MM AAV. Such a contract would make Hughes the second-highest-paid Devils defenseman behind Dougie Hamilton, and it’s worth noting that per PuckPedia’s tracking, the Devils do not at this stage project to have the cap space to fit in such a cap hit.
In any case, this is not an overly encouraging development for the Devils. While it’s certainly a positive that the disagreement appears to be narrowed down to contract value, rather than both term and value, it remains less than ideal for Hughes to be missing so much of the team’s training camp. The Devils are set to compete in what is likely to be a fiercely contested Metropolitan Division, and it’s possible this delay impedes Hughes’ ability to get off to a fast start – and that’s assuming he ends up signing a deal in the preseason.
If he misses any regular-season time, the overall impact of Hughes’ absence would obviously be all the more pronounced. While Hamilton’s presence means the Devils don’t need to rely on Hughes exclusively to bring offensive punch to their blueline, the Devils are most definitely a weaker team without him.
While there’s no indication at this point that this contract standoff is set to last until then, it is important to note that an RFA must sign a contract by 5pm EST on December 1st, 2025 in order to be eligible to compete in the 2025-26 NHL season.
It remains extremely unlikely that this situation extends that far, though. Hughes is one of the Devils’ most important players, he’s the brother of the face of their franchise, and he’s one of the NHL’s top young blueliners. With stakes this high, it’s difficult to imagine both sides not coming to some sort of agreement before Hughes misses too much game action.
Photos courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Pretty sure Timo has a bigger cap hit too.