The prospect of defenseman Quinn Hughes joining his brothers in New Jersey can be forgotten — at least for now. According to Elliotte Friedman on X, the talented defenseman was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for an absolute haul: Forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a 2026 1st Round Pick.
Related: Grading Canucks-Wild Blockbuster Trade for Quinn Hughes
This move came just ~39 hours before the Vancouver Canucks were slated to play the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. There was widespread chatter from Devils fans that they would chant and cheer for Quinn with every touch of the puck.
Sky-High Price to Pay for Devils in Theoretical Deal
According to an industry expert, a trade package from the Devils with roughly-equal value could have included something like this: Dawson Mercer, Arseny Gritsyuk, Simon Nemec, and at least one first-round pick…maybe even two.
The only way the Devils likely could have skirted around dealing that kind of volume would be to include captain Nico Hischier. That would just create a massive hole by filling another one.
If a Mercer+++ package was agreed upon, the Devils would’ve also needed to do some major cap gymnastics to make it work. It’ll be hard enough to figure out how to get Johnathan Kovacevic and his $4 million average annual value (AAV) cap hit back in the lineup once he’s healthy. Quinn’s cap hit of $7.85 million — while great value — is over $2 million more than Mercer, Gritsyuk and Nemec combined.
While it’s not yet clear what the Canucks asked for exactly, insider Pierre LeBrun said he was “Hearing the New Jersey Devils made what they feel was a strong first offer to Vancouver on Quinn Hughes but it didn’t generate enough traction obviously.”
With the current make-up of the roster, the Devils could not overcome the sort of loss that comes with dealing a big package. The Wild can. Look no further than Vancouver themselves; despite having Quinn playing 27:26 per night, their 11-17-3 record is good (bad?) for last in the NHL — a .403 points percentage (PTS%), .035% worse than any other team (Calgary Flames, .438 PTS%).
Here’s how the Devils’ lineup — fully healthy — could have appeared with a trade like that going through, plus necessary cap management, which would result in additional prospects/key draft picks forfeited. For the sake of this article, Dougie Hamilton is the odd-man out, but there are multiple players who could potentially become a casualty of this:
Jesper Bratt — Jack Hughes — Stefan Noesen
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Connor Brown
Ondrej Palat — Cody Glass — Evgenii Dadonov
Angus Crookshank — Luke Glendening — Zack MacEwen
Quinn Hughes — Johnathan Kovacevic
Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler — Brenden Dillon
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
*Total Loss: Gritsyuk, Nemec, Mercer, 1-2 Firsts + Necessary Assets to Clear Cap
Right off the bat, it’s clear that there’s not much forward depth. Losing Gritsyuk and Mercer would hurt.
With overall injuries in the NHL on the rise, odds are they won’t be that healthy all at once. But even if they were, can anyone confidently say the above lineup, on paper, is a Cup Contender?
Still a Long-Term Plan for Quinn + Room for Short-Term Moves
Quinn’s contract expires following the 2026-27 season; the Devils will likely be in a much better spot cap-wise. Not only will a good chunk of money be coming off the books, but the cap ceiling will rise roughly ~$18 million from now to then. The Devils will certainly have leverage based upon the sole fact that they employ his brothers.
Secondly, this is the best thing for Luke’s development. By default, a Quinn addition would push Luke into a lesser role. While letting Luke feast on weaker competition could turn the Devils into a powerhouse down the road, he still has facets of his game to work on. Getting those bigger minutes and tough matchups will only benefit him long-term.
With this all being said: Just because this wasn’t the right time for Quinn does not mean general manager Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils should stand pat as the deadline approaches. After extending Jack to one of the most team-friendly contracts of all-time in November of 2021, they’ve only won one single playoff series.
If they don’t right the ship sooner rather than later, missing the playoffs could become a real possibility. Per Moneypuck, the Devils have just a 36.8% chance to advance to the postseason.
