The New Jersey Devils have locked up one of their franchise players in Jack Hughes. The team announced they have signed Hughes to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension. His new contract carries a salary-cap hit of $8 million a season. It also includes a $2 million signing bonus in year one. A 10-team no-trade list kicks during 2026-27 for the final four years of the deal.
Hearing same as my pal @cmasisak22 here, it’s 8 years x $8M AAV, max term extension for Jack Hughes@TSNHockey @TheAthletic https://t.co/Cq8w9zMvvG
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 30, 2021
Devils Sign Hughes To Long Term Extension
The Devils are getting the young core pieces for the long term. First, it was Nico Hischier, now it is Jack Hughes. The Devils have now locked up both players that were taken first overall. New Jersey originally drafted Hughes first overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Hughes was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season with his entry-level deal expiring. In 119 career NHL games, Hughes recorded 55 points (20 goals and 35 assists). Hughes is returning to the lineup Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks, after missing 17 games with a dislocated left shoulder. So far this season in two games, Hughes recorded three points (two goals and an assist).
Moving Forward
The Devils and the player benefit from this deal. New Jersey gets the player locked up for eight years, but not only that, Hughes has the potential of hitting it big again. At the end of this contract, he will only be 29. He could max out again. Think about that for a second. While a big concern has been his injury history over the first three years, he will only get bigger and stronger as time goes on. However, Hughes for what he has done thus far is the highest-paid forward on the team. That is how much the Devils believe in him and his future.
The Devils future is bright as they are moving in the right direction with pieces like Hughes, Hischier, Dawson Mercer, Alexander Holtz, Pavel Zacha, Jesper Bratt, and others. This is just another notch in general manager Tom Fitzgerald‘s hat for what he has done since taking over this team.
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