The Devils Player To Watch At The Prospect Challenge
The Difficulties Of A Hughes Brothers Unification In New Jersey
For all the Devils fans suffering from anxiety over the holdout of restricted free agent defenseman Luke Hughes—and the attendant dizziness related to the Hughes brothers’ ruminations over their future—there will be some hockey played this weekend.
Not anything meaningful, of course. New Jersey is one of five clubs participating in the annual Prospects Challenge in Buffalo starting with Thursday night’s tilt versus Columbus.
There will only be a handful of recognizable names on the Devils’ roster, with defenseman Seamus Casey the sole player with any NHL experience. Still, I have witnessed how some guys used past tournaments as a jumping off point on their road to the big club.
If I had to pick one player with similar stuff to watch during these three contests, it will be wing Lenni Hameenaho, New Jersey’s second round pick (No. 58 overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft. The 6-foot, 185-pound Finnish prospect will have an opportunity during training camp to earn a spot in the Devils’ bottom six.
Not that there’s any rush—Hameenaho turns 21 in November and has yet to play in a North America pro league. However, from what I’ve seen at the World Junior Championships and in his highlights for his SM-liga club, he has a nose for the net, and that’s something this Devils squad could desperately use from more of their wings.
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald and Head Coach Sheldon Keefe pontificate about the importance of “getting to the inside ice”, and that’s where Hameenaho has excelled, using his instincts and plus shot to finish plays in the hard areas. Scouting reports indicate that Hameenaho plays with physicality and defensive diligence, which has to be a given if you’re auditioning for a low-rung lineup spot.
The consensus also says that though Hameenaho isn’t going to win many races to the puck, he will battle on the forecheck and can make plays in tight spaces. With a $950,000 two-way AAV from his Entry Level deal signed in May, his ascension would save the Devils a few bucks in salary cap space (see below).
Obviously, I’m putting the cart way before the horse here. Lets’ see how Hameenaho first handles the more compact games at this tournament and then, if successful, what happens as he takes steps from there.
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A few thoughts about the Hughes brothers’ saga playing out in the media. With Vancouver’s Quinn and New Jersey’s Jack going back and forth at this week’s 2025 NHL Media Tour in Las Vegas and Luke operating in radio silence due to his holdout, there’s all sorts of conjecture about their futures.
I’m sure some folks enjoyed the elder two’s honesty that they would like to play together at some point during their careers. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen during the 2025-26 season, unless the three supreme skaters are all selected and are healthy enough to participate for Team USA at February’s Winter Olympic Games in Milan.
Quinn, according to multiple reports, is frustrated with Vancouver’s progress to become a consistent Stanley Cup contender and might request a trade. Meanwhile, the Canucks, led by Hockey Operations President Jim Rutherford, are under no obligation to comply since Hughes is signed for the next two seasons at a $7.85 million AAV. Quinn’s leverage is if he hints that he won’t re-sign after the 2026-27 season, putting the Canucks organization in the awkward position of having to risk losing him for nothing.
The Devils are surely monitoring the situation, but understand that there are 30 other NHL teams who would skate through fire for the opportunity of landing the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman.
And some of those clubs have the requisite salary cap space so Vancouver wouldn’t have to eat a large contract in the return package. The Devils will likely have to offload some salary simply to fit Luke Hughes’ demands under the cap, be it for the eight-year max or just the five that buys out Luke’s restricted free agency years and coincides with the end of Jack’s deal. Per PuckPedia.com, New Jersey is currently sitting with about $6.1 million in room.
And then there’s going to be Vancouver’s ask—if the other Hughes brothers, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier are off the table, what will the Canucks find in New Jersey’s asset cupboard that they’d find appetizing? Good luck selling them on Timo Meier’s $8.8 million AAV through 2031 or even Dougie Hamilton’s $9 million owed for the next three seasons. The Devils would be looking at delivering multiple 1s plus 2024 first rounder Anton Silayev as a start.
If you look at the Devils’ cap sheet, it’s already filled with highly-paid defensemen. Assuming a $6.1 million AAV for Luke Hughes for this purpose, only four other teams are slated to spend more on d-men this season than New Jersey, according to PuckPedia.com. Though there’s less depth on Quinn and Luke’s left side, the Devils have committed $4 million per year over the next two years to Brendan Dillon and $3.4 million to Jonas Siegenthaler for each of the next three years. Extending Johnathan Kovacevic ($4 million X 5 years) this offseason fills up the right side with Hamilton and Brett Pesce ($5.5 million AAV through 2030), not to mention what the Devils will have in store when Simon Nemec hits restricted free agency after this season.
We just concluded a relatively event-free offseason that saw little player movement. Now we’re supposed to believe the Canucks will be bullied into trading their captain to cap-crunched New Jersey just to fulfill the brothers’ fantasy of playing together?
Folks, it’s time to focus on hockey, even if these prospect games are just for fun.