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Apr 11, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes (43) skates with the puck during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Devils GM Vows to Extend Star Defender

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The New Jersey Devils went through a difficult contract negotiation last summer with forward Dawson Mercer. It took the majority of the offseason to get a deal done and the impact of that prolonged negotiation has weighed heavily on the team’s general manager ever since.

Fast forward to this offseason, and it’s déjà vu for the Devils. Their top rising defenseman Luke Hughes is still a restricted free agent as September arrives. The soon-to-be 22-year-old defender must be signed to a new deal in order to play this upcoming season, and the clock is ticking. After just two seasons in the NHL, he’s showed the promise of being a number one defender very soon, further complicating the negotiations between Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald and Hughes’ agent, Pat Brisson.

Despite the continuing challenge, Fitzgerald is confident a deal will be finalized. In a recent interview with Jimmy Murphy of RG, the Devils GM voiced an assured optimism that the two sides would hammer out a new contract.

“Eventually, this will get done,” he told Murphy. “The 11th hour is training camp. Right? A lot of times, a lot of the stuff doesn't get done until the 11th hour. We're hoping we can get something done here in quick fashion, and both sides are working hard at it; that’s for sure.”

The road to signing Hughes has been a difficult one, even as both sides remain optimistic. Two distinct challenges must be solved in order to get a deal done. The first is agreeing to the actual length of the contract. As Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com recently reported, the two sides are far off when it comes to the length of this extension. Novozinsky shared that the disagreement is multifaceted. The Devils are pushing to sign him to a short-term, bridge deal of two or three years or sign him to an eight-year, mega-extension. Hughes would reportedly prefer to have some unrestricted free agency years available, specifically the year 2030 when his brother Jack’s contract expires.

The second problem feeds right in to that and is the most obvious hurdle in these negotiations: the annual salary. The Devils have a bit over $6 million in available cap space for the coming season and potentially $10 million more freed up next summer from other expiring contracts.

Is an average annual salary of $6 million even in the ballpark of what Hughes would accept? The exact financial ask from Hughes is unknown, but for a top young defenseman in the NHL, the comparables are anything but cheap. Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild signed an eight-year extension at age 22 that pays an annual salary of $8.5 million. Noah Dobson is a bit older, at age 25, but he just signed an extension with the Montreal Canadiens that pays him $9.5 million annually. Based off this, it's likely that Hughes is seeking a salary north of $7.5 million, and it wouldn't be surprising to hear he's asking for the same number as or higher than Dobson.

Which makes Fitzgerald’s bold claim all the more powerful. If he is to be believed, the Devils are willing to invest in the roster for the foreseeable future and build a championship contender. Both sides are now racing against the clock with just a month until the regular season begins. Hoping to avoid another holdout, the Devils are doing all they can to get their top young player signed to a new deal for the second summer in a row.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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