The New Jersey Devils may have just made life harder for the Minnesota Wild in the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes.
Minnesota is still trying to lock Hughes into a contract extension, but the longer this stretches out, the more the chatter points to New Jersey as the likely landing spot if he reaches free agency next summer. That idea got another jolt on Friday when the Devils swung a trade for Connor Hellebuyck, adding the franchise goaltender they needed and, perhaps, another lure for Hughes.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, New Jersey sent centers Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goaltender Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Winnipeg Jets for Hellebuyck.
That’s a hefty price, but the Devils may see the real payoff a year from now. If Hughes ever hits the open market, New Jersey’s case gets stronger.
Hughes has been at the center of this conversation since the Wild landed him in a blockbuster trade from the Vancouver Canucks last December. Minnesota paid a massive price to get him, sending center Marco Rossi, forward Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick that became winger Adam Novotny. The cost only looks bigger now because Hughes still hasn’t signed an extension.
There was plenty of belief that a deal would come together over the summer. Hughes said in his exit interview that he was open to signing one with Minnesota, and the two sides have talked. But nothing is done, and Hughes has made clear he’s in “no rush” to decide.
The possibility that he wants to play with his brothers has only kept the speculation alive. Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes are already the Devils’ biggest names, and New Jersey has long been viewed as the place where Quinn could eventually complete the family reunion if he reaches free agency next summer.
Wild fans have dismissed that notion by pointing to Minnesota’s playoff trip and its core of Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber. But New Jersey has its own talent, too, with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt in the mix. The Devils’ biggest need was in net, and Hellebuyck changes that in one swing.
Hellebuyck arrives with real pedigree. He’s a three-time Vezina winner and four-time All-Star who came into the league as a fifth-round pick out of UMass-Lowell in the 2012 draft. His numbers dipped last season in Winnipeg to a 2.86 goals against average and .895 save percentage, but he was one year removed from a Hart Trophy season in 2024-25, when he posted a .925 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average.
He’s also a member of the USA national team, another detail that could matter if Hughes is weighing his next move.
None of this locks Hughes out of Minnesota, but it’s not good news for the Wild. The Devils have already shown they’re willing to pay up for a player who can move the needle, and Friday’s trade may have raised the bar for everyone else.
That matters if Minnesota decides to chase Detroit Red Wings center and Hughes’s mentor Dylan Larkin. A rumored package of center Danila Yurov, prospect Charlie Stramel, a 2026 first-round pick and a top-nine forward such as Yakov Trenin or Ryan Hartman has been seen by many Wild fans as reasonable, but the Red Wings are likely to ask for more. They know how badly Larkin reportedly wants Minnesota, and the Wild know how badly they want him.
There’s also the cost to Minnesota’s depth, which has already been hit by injuries and uneven play. The more the Wild chase bigger names, the thinner the roster could get.
And if Hughes is truly leaning toward New Jersey, the Hellebuyck trade could be the kind of move that helps tip the scales. The Devils may still need to shuffle money around, even with $16.8 million in cap space per Puckpedia, but that’s a problem for another day. A contract for Hughes next summer could be worth more than $20 million per season, and every day without an extension makes that outcome feel a little more real.
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