The New Jersey Devils were quiet on Day 1 of NHL Free Agency as they elected to re-sign Jake Allen and sign Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov for depth scoring. Additionally, Cody Glas was re-signed to a two-year, $2.5 million contract. However, the story of the off-season Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is getting Luke Hughes signed to a new extension.
“My number one priority is Luke Hughes,” Fitzgerald said on Wednesday.
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This has been an ongoing negotiation since the end of the season. There have been constant updates and discussions between Luke Hughes, who has demonstrated his ability to be a top-notch defenseman in the NHL, and the Devils’ number one defenseman.
Before the opening of free agency, Fitzgerald extended the qualifying offer to the fourth overall pick in 2021. This simply allows them to continue negotiating and strike a deal. Unlike previous negotiations with players, Tom Fitzgerald does not feel getting Luke signed to a long-term contract should be an issue, as he has been in constant communication with his agent.
“I talked to his agent yesterday (Tuesday). We said, let’s enjoythe holiday weekend, and we’ll get back start talking after the week,” Fitzgerald added. “He’s excited. He wants to be a Devil long term just like his brother (Jack) did. So we’re excited about that.
Go back to Jake Allen. Players want to stay here, and they want to stay in the Jersey and want to be in the Jersey. They want to be part of something that we’re creating here, but also know that the standards are getting higher and higher and higher each and every year, which is exciting for us. So now Luke, I don’t sense anything other than he wants to be a Devil for a long time.”
As DevilsNation.com has documented, the Devils are up against the salary cap. They had about $14.4 million in cap space before the extensions for Allen, Glass, and Dennis Cholowski. Adding the signings of Brown and Dadonov leaves about $6,094,167 to sign Luke Hughes to an extension. That won’t be sufficient to sign the RFA defenseman to a long-term deal, considering what many younger defenseman were getting out of their entry-level deals.
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Luke Hughes put up 47 points (nine goals and 38 assists in his rookie campaign in 23-24, where he finished third in Calder Voting, only behind defenseman Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild and the winner, forward Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks. This past season, Luke put up 44 points (seven goals and 37 assists). And from the minute he came into the league, he had an impact, recording a goal and an assist.
Lots of what the NJ Devils could do moving forward is contingent on Luke Hughes’s number.
The cap space was tight knowing that Luke Hughes will Probably take of half of what they were operating with. #njdevils
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) July 2, 2025
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The issue will be the number. As Devils Nation.com has documented, Faber is getting $8.5 million on a long-term deal. The number for Luke Hughes will be less than Faber’s. But whatever he gets will determine what Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils can do after that.
“What I do with Luke will determine what else I possibly could do,” Fitzgerald said.
Travelling up north. Saw Devils sign Cody Glass at two years at $2.5 million.
With the expectation of Luke Hughes getting somewhere between $7-$7.5 million on his long term contract the Devils will need to clear space before opening night #njdevils
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) July 2, 2025
So, the Devils could theoretically start the season with this group and place Johnathan Kovacevic on LTIR to free up the $4 million to pay Luke Hughes somewhere in the $7-$7.5 million range that he will receive on a seven- to eight-year extension. However, the additions of Brown and Dadonov will not be enough. Neither will Arseni Gritsyuk and Lenni Hämeenaho get the Devils what they need to be.
Something else will need to be done, like moving Dawson Mercer ($4 million) or Ondrej Palat ($6 million). But as Fitzgerald indicated, he needs that Luke Hughes extension done first, or else he can’t make any other moves.
