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Devils Pulse: Is Quinn Hughes to New Jersey Dead?
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- Devils Pulse: Is Quinn Hughes to New Jersey Dead?
Now that the dust has settled on the New Jersey Devils ' failure to reel in Quinn Hughes , is the dream to unite all three brothers in the Garden State dead?
NJ.com's, and Speaking of the Devils host, Ryan Novozinsky joined James Nichols on the Devils Rink Report to react to Quinn Hughes ' stunning trade to the Minnesota Wild and whether the dream of a Hughes brothers reunion in New Jersey is truly over.
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Asked if he still saw Quinn in New Jersey by the end of his current contract, Novozinsky gave a reserved answer.
"Yeah, but I'm not as confident as I once was," Novozinsky admitted. "And that's not reporting on anything—that's just the landscape of everything that's happened."
Quinn's post-trade comments raised eyebrows. He was asked if he would consider re-signing in Minnesota, and he was as about as enthusiastic as any fan would want their new superstar to be.
"I mean, [I'm] extremely open-minded," Hughes said. "They have an amazing core. I've only been here four hours, but getting to know some of the guys and how energetic and positive some of the guys are. And then Minnesota being so close to Michigan (where Hughes grew up) and the state of hockey and the passion here. Just seeing how the fans reacted to me as well in warm-ups. And then, obviously, I have a lot of time for Billy (Guerin, the Wild's GM) for 'sacking up' and making the deal like he did and how he valued me."
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Novozinsky points out just how much that reaction hampers a future Quinn, New Jersey outlook.
"The pointed comments… basically saying other GMs didn't 'sack up' the way that Bill Guerin did. Look, I think that it's obvious—all the Hughes brothers keep saying that they all want to play with each other, that's totally fine, and you've got to believe that."
However, the Wild are looking much better than the Devils are right now. Granted, Quinn's brother, Jack Hughes , literally just returned. Yet, the Wild are trending in one direction, while the Devils are trending the other way.
Winning would change everything.
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"At the same time, you also have to factor in what's going to happen if Minnesota ends up going on a Cup run… Is that going to entice Quinn Hughes to want to stay there? Playing with your brothers is great, but the reason you play hockey is to win Stanley Cups."
Novozinsky floated the flip side, one where Quinn quickly accomplishes it all in Minnesota, which would actually benefit New Jersey.
"On the other side of that coin, I wonder—is Quinn Hughes gonna win one Stanley Cup… and would having that success be like, 'Okay, I've done everything… Should I go play with my brothers now because I've accomplished everything I want to accomplish?'"
Despite the uncertainty, he still leans toward New Jersey long-term. The excitement of being with a new team and their early success with Quinn has everyone feeling good. Yet, time changes everything, and that's certainly a factor, too.
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"I think ultimately he does wind up signing in New Jersey," Novozinsky continued. "But, the fact that I'm not 100% sure now is kind of an indictment on the Devils."
The missed opportunity stings—and Novozinsky placed blame squarely on GM Tom Fitzgerald .
"It sounds like the Devils had what was, for a while, a good offer that Vancouver looked like they were going to accept. And then Fitzgerald kind of bungled all this because he couldn't clear the cap space… All the reports that have come out have reflected exactly that."
"If you want to lay the blame on the failed pursuit of Quinn Hughes, you can lay it squarely on Fitzgerald for a number of reasons. For one, not being able to clear the cap space. And two, if you just drafted the right guys, you would have been able to make the trade… The Devils were in position to draft all the guys that ended up going to Minnesota in the deal… It's not like it would have been out of the question for them to draft a Marco Rossi over an Alexander Holtz ."
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The Hughes-to-New Jersey path is still open when Quinn hits free agency in 2027, but Minnesota's bold move—and Fitzgerald's missteps—have made the future far less certain.
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