Metropolitan Notes: Hughes, Panarin, Sheary

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Devils and defenseman Luke Hughes had agreed to focus on a long-term contract but that the sides were well apart in terms of the AAV of such a deal.  Anthony DiMarco of Daily Faceoff relays that New Jersey now appears to be willing to go higher than $8MM per season on their long-term offer.  Notably, that would put him with a higher price tag than his brother Jack Hughes, who checks in exactly at $8MM per season as their number one center.  The blueliner has two full NHL seasons under his belt, both seeing him exceed 40 points while logging over 21 minutes a night of playing time.  We’ll soon see if this reported increase to their offer is enough to get talks across the finish line.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

• The Rangers are believed to have approached Artemi Panarin’s camp with the idea of taking a bit of a discount on his next deal to help the team extend its competitive window, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link). They pointed out how Anze Kopitar did that with Los Angeles to help keep their core group intact and add to it.  At this point, obviously the veteran remains unsigned so it’s unclear if he’d be willing to do this or if he’ll be looking for top dollar on his next contract.
• Still with the Rangers, Peter Baugh and Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic predict (subscription link) that winger Conor Sheary will ultimately have his PTO deal converted to a full contract and break camp with the team. He’s attempting to return to the NHL after spending most of last season in the minors with AHL Syracuse before terminating the final year of his contract to get to free agency.  If Sheary makes New York’s roster, it could put someone like Jonny Brodzinski at risk of losing his spot and landing on waivers in the coming days.