NEWARK, N.J. — Tom Fitzgerald is certain of what the end result will be in the New Jersey Devils’ contract dispute with unsigned restricted free agent Luke Hughes.

“We will be signing him,” the longtime general manager said Thursday.

Eventually. Still, Hughes does not have a contract for the upcoming NHL season, and as result, the 22-year-old defenseman is not at training camp, which started this week. The same goes for Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish and Nashville Predators wing Luke Evangelista, and while opening night of the 2025-26 regular season is still more than two weeks away, not having young players on the ice for practice sessions is less than ideal for all parties involved.

“I do believe every day you lose, it is an impact on a player,” Fitzgerald said. “So, from our end, yeah there’s urgency to get him here or to continue to strive to that common goal of getting a deal. I believe on their end, too, there’s some urgency.”

Like Fitzgerald, Ducks general manger Pat Verbeek expressed disappointment about not having McTavish around. The 22-year-old returned home and was reportedly skating with the junior Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League, rather than spending time at the rink with new Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville and his staff.

“We have virtually a whole new coaching staff, and the group is really excited like I’ve never seen before,” Verbeek said. “There’s a new system that’s getting implemented. There’s a lot of things to learn, and it takes a lot of reps to get it under each player’s belt. So when Mason gets here, he’s got a lot of catching up to do.”

Evangelista might not have the high-end-prospect expectations of Hughes or McTavish, but with the Predators looking to get back to the playoffs after being arguably the biggest bust in the league last season, they’d like to have their full group on the ice as soon as possible. A deal of some sort needs to get done first.

“We’re in sort of a daily process,” Nashville general manager Barry Trotz said. “Obviously we love Luke, so we’re going to work through that and see if we can get him here.”

Hughes, a brother of Jack, the Devils’ top center, could have a big role in New Jersey whenever he gets there. Work remains on hammering out a contract, though Fitzgerald did not express concern about fitting the younger Hughes in with the remaining cap space the Devils have.

Fitzgerald said he and agent Pat Brisson are grinding through negotiations, and that he texted with Hughes on Wednesday, “knowing that we will get through this at some point.”

“We just don’t know when that point is,” Fitzgerald said. “The top priority is signing Luke Hughes to a long-term deal, and that’s our goal. It hasn’t changed.”

There are only two other unsigned restricted free agents. Vegas Golden Knights wing Alexander Holtz is in camp on a professional tryout agreement until a contract is agreed on, while 25-year-old center Rasmus Kupari, whose rights are owned by the Winnipeg Jets, is signed to play this season in Switzerland.

Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon does not anticipate any kind of problem getting Holtz signed.

“It’s an important camp for Alex,” McCrimmon said. “Sometimes those players don’t participate in camp. I think everybody agreed it was best for him that he did, so that’s his status.”