It\u2019s well reported that at this point, the Devils are seeking to sign Hughes to a three-year bridge deal, or a max-term, eight year contract.<\/p>\n
As a reminder, those eight-year deals disappear on September 16th, 2026 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n
However, Hughes and his agent Pat Brisson<\/a> have stood firm, looking for a five-year contract instead.<\/p>\n The theory is that the youngest Hughes brother wants to align his contract with Jack Hughes<\/a>, so they can walk into free agency together in the same offseason five summers from now.<\/p>\n However, there\u2019s something else going on here.<\/p>\n The Devils certainly won\u2019t fold and hand Hughes the five-year extension he\u2019s looking for. If they did, they\u2019d be handcuffing themselves, walking the star defenseman into unrestricted free agency, and leave the door open for him to walk away for nothing in his prime.<\/p>\n The notion that the Hughes brothers could be orchestrating working as co-free agents makes sense in theory. However, an inquiring team leaving a ton of cap space open to ink two, maybe even all three brothers on the open market, comes with extreme risk if things go south. Now, all of a sudden, said team has a ton of unaccounted for cap space, and perhaps all the best free agents in the class five years from now sign elsewhere.<\/p>\n It\u2019s too much of a risk, and probably not one any smart general manager is willing to take. Don\u2019t worry, the Quinn Hughes<\/a> watch is still on in New Jersey.<\/p>\n So, the Hughes camp knows the Devils won\u2019t submit to a five-year contract.<\/p>\n Instead, Hughes and Brisson are trying to maximize dollars.<\/p>\n On a short-term, three-year contract, AFP Analytics<\/a> projects Hughes to earn $5,756,262 on an extension. On a long-term, six-year deal, Hughes is projected to earn $8,386,810.<\/p>\n At this point, it would be no surprise to see that number come in on a three-year deal at $7 million or a bit north. And on a max-term eight-year deal, we could be looking at another $9 million defenseman in New Jersey.<\/p>\n But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n If and when that happens, the Devils don\u2019t have the cap space to make that happen. Thus, it\u2019s September 3rd, and he\u2019s still unsigned. And there\u2019s a reason for that. The Devils need to clear cap space with just $6,131,667 in their pocket.<\/p>\n A trade must happen.<\/p>\n However, over the last calendar month, and then some, there has yet to be a transaction of significance across the entire NHL.<\/p>\n Suffice to say, this will get done. It\u2019s a matter of when, not if. There are just a few dominos that are going to have to fall first.<\/p>\n Whereas the holdup on an agreement appears to be term, it\u2019s more likely that Hughes and Brisson are trying to maximize the payout on a three or eight-year contract.<\/p>\n The Devils and their fans can breathe a sigh of relief, it\u2019s highly unlikely they lose their star brothers in free-agency in five years.<\/p>\n For more\u00a0Devils news<\/a>, visit\u00a0New Jersey Hockey Now<\/a>, subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0and like our\u00a0Facebook page.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us on\u00a0\ud835\udd4f:<\/p>\n @NJDHockeyNow<\/a>,\u00a0@JamesNicholsNHL<\/a><\/p>\n And on Threads:<\/p>\n @JamesNicholsNHL<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/NJHN-plus.png.webp.webp\")
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