Jack Hughes has signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils and just in time for him to join the lineup against San Jose on Tuesday evening. Per Devils’ head coach Lindy Ruff. “Jack’s ready to go.” Based on the new deal, he’s ready to go both short-term and long-term.
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A 10-team no-trade clause kicks in 26-27, (the last 4 years of deal) and the specifics of the contract are as follows:
- 22-23: $9 (includes $2M SB)
- 23-24: $8.5M
- 24-25: $8.5M
- 25-26: $8.5M
- 26-27: $8M
- 27-28: $7.5M
- 28-29: $7M
- 29-30: $7M
The immediate reaction to the new contract extension is that it’s not a steal but that it’s also not a bad contract. Hughes has already shown in the last year that he should be an elite player in the NHL very soon, even if he hasn’t quite put it all together on a consistent basis. Supporters of this deal are looking at what Hughes will turn into, not necessarily what he’s already proven.
Dom Luszczyszyn has crunched the numbers and compared Hughes to players like Brayden Point, Sebastian Aho, Claude Giroux, and Matt Duchene. At the same time, he admits there’s an “interesting mix of tweener first liners – two of which had a strange bump in the two years.”
Hughes was the No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season. “I’m so excited to sign this deal for myself and for my family,” Hughes said in a press release. “I love being in New Jersey and I love playing in New Jersey. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else, and we are really building something special.”
Hughes says that the contract shows how dedicated both sides are to each other and he firmly believes in what the organization is building. “I want to thank Tom Fitzgerald, David Blitzer, Josh Harris, and everyone with the New Jersey Devils for this opportunity.”
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