The New Jersey Devils are a perplexing mess of losing hockey games over the past month and a half. Some blame Jack Hughes freak hand injury (he has since returned). Some blame the “Prudential Center mummies” with a sense of humor. There is one event so far this season that seems like an unlikely turning point for the worst: the trade of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.
The writing was on the wall that Quinn Hughes’ time with the Vancouver Canucks was going to be ending. All signs, even his own admissions, pointed to the Devils being his preferred destination to play with his brothers Jack and Luke. Finally the Canucks seemed ready to make the long anticipated move in a scenario where the Devils seemingly had all the leverage. Instead Quinn Hughes found himself wearing, and thriving, in a Wild sweater.
Not surprisingly the Devils were one of the many teams in the mix for Quinn Hughes. Rumor has it Minnesota had some concerns with the proposed trade package. The real deal breaker that saw Quinn land in the twin cities was New Jersey’s inability to clear cap to make a deal happen. Minnesota, even with Kirill Kaprisov being the NHL’s highest paid players, had a plethora of young cheap prospects ready to send to British Columbia. That spare Zeev Buium (who the Devils had a chance to pick in the 2024 draft) they had is already looking great for the Canucks.
During general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s tenure he has been known to give out NTC almost like candy. That has led to problems to potentially moving “dead weight” from this current roster like the diminished offensively Dougie Hamilton and incredibly struggling with a hefty price tag Ondrej Palat. Hamilton found himself benched in their Sunday loss to the Winnipeg Jets while Palat remains in the lineup and has not been asked to waive his NTC.
Fitzgerald hasn’t had incredible success in the drafting department either. One of his few success stories, Dawson Mercer, was said to be included in the trade. Other notable first rounders’ Alexander Holtz, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Chase Stillman have all been shipped off, some at a deep discount. 2024 first rounder Anton Silayev was also rumored to be a part of the proposed Quinn Hughes trade package.
Thanks to Fitzgerald’s roster construction the Devils have little cap space and no flexibility. Quinn Hughes, who would have been a welcomed addition to the roster, being sent elsewhere is a massive let down for the organization. Now the organization finds itself without Quinn, but stuck with underperforming and highly paid players, some of whom aren’t thrilled with the situation themselves (how Dougie Hamilton’s agent reacted to being left out of the lineup is a good example).
That isn’t to suggest that not getting Quinn Hughes directly lead to Hamilton’s discontent or Palat’s continued inability to find the score sheet he was paid handsomely to contribute to. What is it suggesting is that missing out on an available Quinn Hughes In the chance to join his brothers was a heartbreaker. It’s the kind that deflates the entire vibe of an organization that desperately needed something to infuse energy in them. Elliotte Friedman reports that it “damaged their internal workings”. In a weird way, losing out on Quinn Hughes might do more harm than Jack’s nearly two month injury layoff.
The Devils were expected to be a playoff contender so we don’t expect them to waive the white towel of surrender on this season just yet. They’re still held back by the same things that prevented them from landing Quinn Hughes, further complicating their situation. That failed trade might not only be the turning point in the season, but also for Tom Fitzgerald’s job.