Fitzgerald’s Delay Puts Hughes/Devils On Brink Of Another RFA Distraction
The Devils and restricted free agency go together like dirt and water. Together, they make mud out of their ensuing seasons.
New Jersey’s defense prodigy Luke Hughes remains unsigned with training camp about two weeks away. The brother of Devils All-Star center Jack Hughes, Luke, the team’s No. 4 overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, is a similarly sublime skater who has already registered 93 points in 155 NHL games. Only 20 d-men have amassed more since his league debut, per NHL.com.
Unfortunately, since that first pro skate occurred in a relatively meaningless April 2023 affair against Buffalo, Hughes burned a year off his entry level contract and became eligible for restricted free agency this offseason. (Note: Hughes did contribute during the New Jersey’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Carolina that postseason.) Though he’s considered an RFA, he is not yet eligible to receive an offer sheet. That means his only leverage is to hold out until he receives a satisfactory deal with the Devils.
To make matters worse, Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald has a habit of making the team’s fan base sweat out these negotiations. Think back to Jesper Bratt in 2021 (exacerbated by his contracting COVID-19 while hanging out in Sweden) and Dawson Mercer last offseason. With his short-lived holdout, Mercer missed parts of training camp and then suffered through an underachieving season by his standards.
And the Devils as a group, save for the record-setting 2022-23 campaign that followed a quiet offseason, have been underachieving under Fitzgerald’s reign. Last season, despite mega hype, New Jersey barely hung onto third place in the Metropolitan Division and then meekly bowed out in the first round.
We have heard varying reports as to what Hughes is looking for in a new deal. NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky echoed others who believe Hughes intends to enter unrestricted free agency at the same time his brother’s contract expires following the 2029-30 season. Fitzgerald has reportedly countered with two options—a 3-year deal at a lower number to cover all but his last RFA season, after which Hughes could elect to initiate a real bidding war; or the traditional 8-year deal for which home-grown free agents can get to a fair value AAV. They can use Jakob Chychrun’s $9 million AAV as a framework, even though the Capitals defenseman is six years older, since the contracts for paying young stars typically age well.
Of course, the Devils currently don’t have that much salary cap space (puckpedia.com has them with a little over $6 million in room), but that’s not the Hughes Team’s problem. Fitzgerald has had all offseason to move anvil contracts like that of wing Ondrej Palat and hasn’t made any transactions affecting the NHL roster since re-signing bottom six center Cody Glass on July 2 (though, to be fair, this hasn’t exactly been an eventful summer for any NHL club).
It’s typical Fitzgerald—downplaying urgency when the calendar hasn’t yet become a real factor. Too many times he delays before engaging with issues like difficult contract negotiations. It’s not unlike how he waited too long before addressing the team’s goaltending debacle two seasons ago and held onto Head Coach Lindy Ruf well past his expiration date.
There’s always “plenty of time” to sort these things out. Until there isn’t. “A lot of times, a lot of the stuff doesn’t get done until the 11th hour,” he told James Murphy of RG last week.
Why? Fitzgerald’s best work—extending Jack Hughes long term for $8 million AAV, Nico Hischier for $7.25 million, and, yes, Bratt for $7.875 million—came when he acted early.
Obviously, it takes two to tango, and Hughes’ agent Pat Brisson plays to win. I’d say it’s likely that Brisson doesn’t care to hear how, in a 5-year deal, the Devils would be buying up all of Hughes’ RFA years, which implicitly calls for a hefty team discount. Brisson doesn’t seem the type to sign off on something like a 5-times-6 agreement.
Fitzgerald, at least publicly, insists that all will be fine. He keeps saying that the two sides, though seemingly at an impasse, will come together so Hughes can continue to delight the attendees at Prudential Center with his brother(s?).
Eventually.
Even Fitzgerald understands a holdout isn’t off the table. If only this time it doesn’t come with repercussions.