Jack Hughes may be heading toward a contract number that would have sounded absurd not long ago.
The NHL’s pay scale is moving fast, and the league is already watching its highest contract record get broken three times this offseason. First came Leo Carlsson, who is not on anybody’s list of top-10 centers in the league, but still landed a deal worth $18 million per season after an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers changed the negotiating picture for Pat Verbeek.
Then Macklin Celebrini topped that by about $400,000 per year, though neither he nor Carlsson signed for the max eight years. Cale Makar did go the full eight years, even as that term is set to disappear in the new collective bargaining agreement beginning in September.
That kind of escalation is familiar in other sports. The modern NFL quarterback now takes up about 20-25% of a team’s salary cap, but it didn’t start there.
In the 1990s, stars like Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, and Steve Young were around 19%. That dropped to roughly 15-17% when Michael Vick and Peyton Manning signed their huge deals in the mid-2000s, and that range held through the mid-2010s.
No quarterback crossed the 20% mark until after the 2020 season, and since then 17 players have signed contracts worth more than 20% of the salary cap.
Hockey appears to be heading down a similar road. What looks outrageous now can become the new standard once one player gets there first. The league is moving toward a world where availability matters as much as talent when it comes to contract ceilings, and that’s where Hughes enters the picture.
The Devils’ star is currently on an average of $8 million per season, but that number could look tiny by the time he reaches free agency. He is under contract through the 2029-30 season, and the league around him is expected to look very different by then. Expansion is expected to be in place by that point, possibly with an expansion draft already in the rearview mirror, and that would mean more money flowing into the league and a higher salary cap over time.
If the cap keeps climbing at the same rate it is now, the numbers get wild in a hurry. Puck Pedia projects the cap at $123 million by the 2028-29 season, and even a conservative estimate has it reaching $145 million by the 2030 offseason. Under the same CBA rules, that would put the max salary at $29 million per season.
That’s why Hughes could wind up in a territory close to $30 million a year if the Devils want to keep him long term. The question isn’t whether that number sounds huge.
It does. The real question is whether he gets his injury situation in check.
If he does, then yes.
In Other News...
Devils Have A Contract Advantage Fans Should Be Watching Closely
The Devils roster has a lot going for it beyond the names on the back of the jerseys, and a big part of that is how manageable the cap sheet looks when stacked against the production coming from key players. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt remain the clearest examples, both established as top-end drivers whose contracts still look friendly compared with what they bring on the ice. Add in Arseny Gritsyuk, whose underlying numbers point to real promise after a recent extension, and New Jersey suddenly has a core that is giving a lot back without forcing the club into a financial corner.
For a team trying to stay competitive without painting itself into a cap-strapped future, that matters. The Devils do not have many deals that stick out as obvious burdens, and most of the lineup is built on contracts that feel fair or better than fair for the level of play attached to them. That kind of balance does not guarantee wins, but it does give New Jersey room to keep building, and it is the sort of advantage fans should keep an eye on as the roster continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Face The Same Connor Hellebuyck Dilemma All Over Again
Connor Hellebuyck has surfaced again as a name the Devils are monitoring, and the timing makes sense for a team still weighing its long-term answer in goal. New Jersey already has Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich in the mix, but that has not stopped the club from being linked to one of the NHLs most accomplished netminders as the Winnipeg Jets explore what a deal would look like.
The problem for the Devils is the same one that follows any pursuit of a goalie of Hellebuycks stature: the cost is not just in assets, but in commitment. Winnipeg is looking for a hefty return, and New Jersey is reportedly wary of paying a premium for a player whose age and contract length would create real financial risk, even if his desire to settle his situation quickly keeps the door open. [Read more 🡒]
Devils May Be Ready To Revisit One Frustrating Jack Hughes Pairing
Jack Hughes and Timo Meier have had stretches together that have not always looked smooth to the eye, which is part of why the pairing has picked up a frustrating reputation around New Jersey. But the deeper numbers tell a more encouraging story. Their expected goal share and scoring-chance results have been positive, even if the actual goal differential has stayed slightly on the wrong side, a sign that the combination may have been dragged down more by luck than by a true chemistry issue.
For a Devils team still looking to maximize its most dangerous talent, that makes the idea worth revisiting in training camp. Meier remains one of the more natural fits to play off Hughes, with enough skill and shot volume to keep pressure on defenses, and the underlying data suggests the duo has at least earned another look. It is not a finished answer, but it is the kind of option New Jersey should be open to exploring again when camp opens. [Read more 🡒]