The New Jersey Devils still have a path, at least in theory, to landing Quinn Hughes before he hits free agency. If that ever becomes a real conversation, the price would be steep, and it would almost certainly start with roster players the Devils would rather keep.
That’s the reality hanging over any potential deal for Hughes. The Minnesota Wild already paid a massive package to get him from the Vancouver Canucks in December, sending Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick. That’s the kind of return that tells you exactly how high the market is for a defenseman like Hughes, who has been one of the best in the last 25 years.
The Wild got the kind of impact they wanted right away. In the playoffs, Hughes was one of their catalysts in all three zones, but Minnesota still fell to the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. The core is there, but the team is still a long way from being a Cup contender.
The complication is the contract. Hughes has just one year left before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, and if he doesn’t sign an extension soon, the Wild may have to think about moving him again to avoid losing him for nothing.
If the Devils wanted to jump into that race, they’d likely need to build a package around a mix of players, prospects, and draft picks. Among the roster players who could be part of that kind of deal, three names stand out.
Dawson Mercer is one of them. He’s a useful young forward, but he has not quite become the player New Jersey has been waiting for. He can chip in around 20 goals, he plays with bite, and he works hard, but the Devils still seem to be waiting for the next step.
What Mercer does bring is durability. He has not missed a game in his NHL career, sitting at 410 straight games, and that run includes the period when games were lost because of COVID-19. He’s the kind of dependable forward who can be used anywhere in a lineup, whether that means skating with Matt Boldy or Kirill Kaprizov, or filling a lower-line role with the Foligno brothers.
Arseny Gritsyuk is another name that fits the bill. He had a strong rookie season in 2025-26 even though the team around him fell short of expectations, putting up 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 66 games. He was one of the brighter spots on a disappointing club.
Gritsyuk has shown he can drive his own line, but there’s still work to do on the defensive side of his game. The puck skills are real, and his ability to move around the lineup gives him value, but the Devils would still be giving up a player they’d probably prefer to keep. Even so, if Hughes is the target, that’s the kind of sacrifice teams make.
Jesper Bratt is the biggest name of the three, and the one that would sting the most. Since his breakout in 2022-23, he has piled up 128 goals and 260 assists for 388 points in 403 games. From a sixth-round pick to one of the NHL’s best wingers, Bratt has become a major piece for New Jersey.
He also makes sense as the most likely member of the Devils’ “big four” forwards to be moved, at least in this kind of scenario. Trading Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier would create a hole that is far harder to replace. Timo Meier could also be the player they’d prefer to move before Bratt, but the Wild would likely value Bratt more in a Hughes deal because he is the better player right now.
If New Jersey did send Bratt out in a trade, the offense Hughes brings back would help immediately. But the Devils would still need another high-end winger to replace what they lost.
That’s the bind here. Any deal for Quinn Hughes would have to be enormous. Waiting until next summer and trying to sign him outright would be the cleaner path, but that comes with its own risk if he extends with the Wild or another team before then.
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The most recent move only added to that sense of transition, with the Devils dealing away Simon Nemec and Maxim Tsyplakov to Calgary and creating even more conversation about what comes next on defense. Hamilton fits the profile of a player who could still draw interest if the right situation develops, but for now the expectation is that he opens the season in New Jersey, leaving the door open on a decision that could shape the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
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