It’s another day in the world, which means New Jersey Devils fans are plotting for another way to wrestle Quinn Hughes from the Minnesota Wild. The Wild and their star defenseman are in the thick of contract negotiations as he enters the final year of his deal and with the long-rumored concept of Quinn joining his brothers Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes, Devils fans feel like it’s their destiny to make a blockbuster trade if the two sides can’t agree to an extension.
If things get that far, placing Hughes on the trade market is an obvious decision. But when it comes to trading it to New Jersey, it just doesn’t make sense.
The Wild are in the middle of a championship window and Hughes is a big part of it. While they should get something in return if Quinn Hughes won’t sign, sending him to New Jersey to fulfill the desires of Devils fans has some significant obstacles and it could leave both sides looking for a solution as the Hughes drama plays out.
The Wild and Devils may not have a realistic path to a Quinn Hughes trade
The idea of trading Hughes if he can’t reach an agreement with the Wild is making the most out of a bad situation. Instead of allowing an elite player to walk out the door for nothing, Minnesota can try and recoup what they gave up to acquire Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks last December. Getting the equivalent of four first-round picks (Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-rounder) isn’t likely since Hughes has one year left on his deal, but even getting a solid player or two in return could help the Wild walk away with something so that their championship window doesn’t slam shut.
But looking at the Devils, there are two questions. First, what do they have to give the Wild to make that happen? The second is why would they give up what it would take to bring Hughes to New Jersey?
As far as tradeable assets, the Devils don’t have a lot to offer. Nico Hischier was the most obvious trade target earlier this summer, but his future was solidified when he signed a five-year, $58.5 million contract extension. Trading for Jack Hughes is a pointless exercise if the main objective is to partner him with his brother and the next best-case is offering 33-year-old Dougie Hamilton or diving into prospects and futures.
Defenseman Anton Silayev (No. 46) and center Alexander Command (No. 60) both rank in Scott Wheeler’s top 100 drafted prospects rankings at The Athletic and could be thrown into a deal. But draft picks do nothing for the Wild as they would be likely toward the back end of the first round.
For a team that would still have a core of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber, the Wild would likely want more to line up with that timeline. But the Devils may not be willing to oblige knowing that Quinn Hughes would be available for nothing but $20 million per season next summer.
Even if the two teams worked out a three-way trade to end the Wild’s waiting game on Dylan Larkin, they’re still getting an inferior player to Hughes in return. But it may not come down to that if people have been paying attention.
Devils fans may be getting ahead of themselves with Quinn Hughes trade talks
The biggest reason a Wild-Devils blockbuster doesn’t make any sense at the moment is that every drumbeat has suggested Hughes will work out a deal in Minnesota. He told reporters after the Wild were eliminated from last year’s playoffs that he would “definitely” be open to re-signing but it was up to “what [general manager Bill Guerin] wants to do.”
Wild owner Craig Leipold also noted that the Wild is pursuing a five-year deal to the three-year contract Hughes is reportedly seeking and while Devils fans took that as another sign toward a family reunion, it doesn’t feel like a large enough gap to derail a deal.
The only logistical road block could come from Hughes’s price tag. The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman both suggested Hughes’s next contract could be in excess of $18 million per season. But this is a problem the Wild have run into before, watching Kirill Kaprizov turn down an eight-year, $128 million extension during training camp only to agree to an eight-year deal worth $136 million a few weeks later.
Paying two players top dollar is a challenge for Guerin to figure out, but it also would be a short-term problem as Minnesota has Faber and Boldy signed to team-friendly deals. With the two sides close to a deal, it would be a shock for Hughes to power play his way to New Jersey and on a championship team, it may be enough for him to ride it out.
Things could change if negotiations take a turn for the worse, but the louder Devils fans try to manifest a trade, the less it makes sense for the Wild to hit the trade market before training camp.
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