We already knew it before the Olympics, but these last two games right out of the break confirmed it: The New Jersey Devils’ season is over. There are a million different reasons on the micro level why this has become one of the most disappointing Devils seasons in my lifetime, but on the macro level, the reason is because this team inexplicably cannot score goals. Whether it’s the talent on the roster, the system the coaching staff employs, pure dumb luck, or a combination of the three, New Jersey has become a team that
is simply incapable of scoring goals. And little-known fact: It’s actually difficult to win games when you don’t score goals.
There are only a handful of players across the league that could have single-handedly fixed most (though not all) of the Devils’ offense problems, but of course, none of them were actually available to acquire.
Well, except that Quinn Hughes guy.
When general manager Tom Fitzgerald decided not to trade for Quinn Hughes back in December, instead allowing him to go to the Minnesota Wild, it cemented his status in my eyes as a guy in way over his head. I’m not going to say it was easy to acquire the eldest Hughes brother, but everything was set up about as perfectly as it could be set up to acquire him. Even for a team has cash-strapped and bogged down by various no-move clauses as the Devils. Fitzgerald himself confirmed that he could have moved the money it would’ve taken to acquire Hughes, which then begs the question, why in the world didn’t he move the money?
This is not a third-line winger we’re talking about here. This is Quinn bleeping Hughes, a genuine superstar, the second-best defenseman in the world behind only Cale Makar. His play in the Olympics really helped clarify just how much he would’ve meant to this organization. To me, the biggest of those micro reasons I mentioned earlier about why the Devils can’t score goals is their complete lack of offensive talent from the blue line. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec haven’t developed the way we hoped thus far, Dougie Hamilton has lost a few steps, Brett Pesce is decent but far from great offensively, and Jonas Siegenthaler, Brenden Dillon, and Johnny Kovacevic are shockingly inept at creating offense. The Devils’ defense is a unit that cannot move pucks and cannot sustain offense in the attacking zone. Adding roughly 23 minutes of Quinn Hughes every game would’ve solved a lot of problems.
Quinn alone is more valuable than any player on the Devils’ roster, and yes that includes his brother Jack. If you have the opportunity to land a player of that caliber, you do it by any means necessary. But of course, Fitzgerald is scared of thinking outside the box. He doesn’t have it in him to actually make a bold move, so instead of improving his team by leaps and bounds, he sat on his hands and let another GM embarrass him. Fitzgerald would rather take the “safe”, conventional route than do anything even remotely creative.
And his fear cost the Devils the best defenseman they’ve had since Scott Niedermayer.
Before I go any further, I will say this: while I think getting Hughes to New Jersey would’ve improved this team dramatically, the problems with this team run too deep for even the mighty Hughes to solve by himself. I think he could have lifted the Devils’ offense into league-average territory, but that’s about it. The rest of the blue line is far too inept at moving the puck or generating any sort of offense, and Sheldon Keefe’s system chokes the life out of the offense anyway. So while nabbing Quinn might’ve gotten New Jersey to the postseason, I don’t know if, as currently constructed, they could’ve made a deep run.
But, again, this is Quinn Hughes. And it’s not like he would’ve been a rental either, as he has another year on his contract at a massive bargain for what he provides. Not to mention, of course, the idea would be that he wants to be here long term to play with his brothers. Even if he can’t bring a Cup to New Jersey by himself in 2025-26, he’s still worth the price of acquisition. Especially since, as mentioned, Fitzgerald claimed he could’ve moved the money if he wanted to. That last point really is the key here. I think there’s a reasonable chance that Fitzgerald lied about being able to move enough money to make himself look less foolish, but let’s decide to believe him for a second. That would mean that Fitzgerald didn’t want to give up the players and/or draft picks it would’ve taken to get Hughes. Yes, I am fully aware the Vancouver Canucks really wanted a big center prospect as the headliner in any trade package for Hughes, which New Jersey lacked thanks in no small part to Fitzgerald’s incompetence. But even still, Fitzgerald absolutely could have cobbled together a package that could have beaten what Minnesota sent to Vancouver. New Jersey doesn’t have a center prospect on the level of Marco Rossi (a player Fitzgerald refused to draft when he had the chance), but New Jersey does have Dawson Mercer, Cody Glass, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Lenni Hameenaho. As far as the big defenseman prospect the Canucks got, Zeev Buium, the Devils certainly could have come close to that with either Simon Nemec or Anton Silayev, or maybe even Seamus Casey. And of course, New Jersey has all sorts of first round draft picks to work with as well.
That is more than enough trade ammo to acquire Quinn Hughes, no one can convince me otherwise. Even if Vancouver asked for Mercer, Gritsyuk, Nemec, and two first rounders, you do that trade every time for Quinn Hughes. Still not enough? Then throw in Silayev. Still not enough? Nice knowing you, Casey. I understand that eventually we would get to a point where the juice isn’t worth the squeeze, but to me, that’s only if we’re talking about guys like Nico Hischier or Jesper Bratt. Otherwise, while I like all those players to varying degrees, and while I wouldn’t want to part with multiple firsts, you still need to do it, because it’s Quinn Hughes. And to anyone who says a trade such as Mercer, Gritsyuk, Nemec, Silayev, Casey and two first rounders is excessive, I would say that I understand, but I think you’re underestimating how good Quinn Hughes in his prime at a hilariously low cap hit for multiple more seasons is. And I would also say you’re probably overestimating most if not all of those guys. The odds that one of them turns into a really good player is high (I personally think Gritsyuk has the best chance of becoming that). But do you know who isn’t a really good player? That would be Quinn Hughes, because he’s not just a really good player, he’s one of the best players in the world. You move heaven and earth to acquire him, especially if, as Fitzgerald himself said, the money is able to be moved.
Ok, so that was a lot of words about how much damage I think Fitzgerald did to this organization by being a cowardly loser, which admittedly doesn’t help us much right now. Yes it can be cathartic to bash Fitzgerald, but in the spirit of actually trying to be constructive, I will offer an action plan as to how this wrong can be righted. After all, if I’m going to whine about something that’s already done, I should try my best to offer a solution.
My action plan is the simplest thing in the world: Try again this summer.
Believe me, I am fully aware of how childish that might sound. Hughes still has one more year left on his deal, and Minnesota is a much better team than Vancouver. So this would not only make Hughes more inclined to want to be with the Wild next season and perhaps long term, it also means that Minnesota will probably be very reluctant to move him after the season anyway. So how does it help anyone to simply suggest the Devils should try again in the summer?
Well the biggest thing, of course, is that I’m working under the assumption that Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe will be gone after the season. I know we all criticize Devils management for their perceived lack of care around this franchise, and I think a lot of that criticism is warranted. The fact that Fitzgerald and Keefe still have their jobs is proof enough that they care less than they should. Still, I simply cannot fathom these two men actually keeping their jobs past 2025-26. If they do, Gary Bettman might step in like Pete Rozelle did with the Giants back in the 80’s or Adam Silver did with the 76er’s last decade. I’ll make the leap of faith that Fitzgerald and Keefe will be gone after the season comes to its merciful end.
And if that happens, the Devils could position themselves to bring in some bold, creative decision-makers. Someone like New Jersey native Sunny Mehta, for example. It doesn’t have to be exactly him, but he’s probably the best avatar of the kind of leader the Devils need at this point. Meanwhile, this bold new front office can bring in a coach who, I don’t know, actually knows it isn’t the Dead Puck Era anymore and can actually craft a system that fits his team’s strengths. Then this fresh leadership group can get to work jettisoning the dead weight off this roster, especially on the backend. They’ll be left with a mess thanks to all the NMC’s Fitzgerald would be leaving them with, but if Chris Drury can do it, anyone can.
And once all that’s done, you circle back to Quinn Hughes.
I already made my point about how the Devils should have offered everything they can to the Canucks. They can still do that with the Wild. Since Minnesota is in more of a win-now place than Vancouver was, pieces like Mercer, Gritsyuk, and Nemec become even more appealing. Silayev and Hameenaho aren’t far behind, and neither is Casey. Glass would provide solid center depth for them as well. Maybe Dougie Hamilton becomes an option too. And now that the season has spiraled out of control, a new asset has emerged: A premium first round pick in this summer’s draft. As much as none of us wanted to be picking high in the draft, New Jersey is playing it’s way into an easy top-1o pick, and maybe even a top-5 pick. Let’s say they land at 7th overall. That would be one heck of an asset to be able to offer.
Not to mention the fact that if I’m the new GM, I’m calling Bill Guerin day and night and impressing upon him that there is a terrific chance he loses Quinn for nothing after just one more season. I tell him that while Quinn might pay lip service to enjoying his time in Minnesota, the entire hockey world knows that he still wants to play with his brothers. Jack and Luke aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so we all know what that means. Additionally, between a potential Hughes extension and Kirill Kaprizov, can you really afford TWO $15m+ AAV contracts on your books? That’s no way to build a team. I tell him that if you don’t want to set your organization back to a massive degree, you’ll do business with me now to at least reclaim some of the capital you lost when you traded for Hughes. Would it work? I don’t know, but you need to plant the seed of doubt as early and often as possible that the Wild will not be able to keep Quinn. Heck, I know there are tampering rules, but to the extent you are legally able to, you also get Jack and Luke to tell Quinn how much things have changed in New Jersey, and how amazing it will be to play for the Devils in the years to come. It’s all so sneaky and ruthless, but it’s also doing whatever it (legally) takes to acquire a player that can alter a franchise. You have to take bold, creative steps to do that.
So in the end, whoever is calling the shots in New Jersey this summer, they absolutely have to do everything in their power to trade for Quinn Hughes. A new, hopefully creative front office with a competent coaching staff would make the Devils a much more appealing destination for Hughes. Make it as difficult as possible for Quinn to not demand a trade to play with his brothers. Meanwhile, offer anything you have to in order to land him. As much as we complain about the Devils’ roster and prospect pool, I still firmly believe they have enough to offer Minnesota to get it done, so long as they don’t let cowardice stand in their way like Fitzgerald did. I don’t care if it takes Mercer, Gritsyuk, Nemec, Silayev, and the Devils’ first round pick in this coming draft, or even more. Do it. And finally, once the season ends, some of those onerous NMC’s should become a little more easy to navigate. Players like Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton should be easier to move, freeing up cap space and roster spots for Hughes.
Tom Fitzgerald made a career-destroying decision to not seriously pursue Quinn Hughes. And he set his franchise back immeasurably as a result. Whoever comes next has a chance to right this wrong, and they must do it if the Devils want to win a Cup in the era of this core.
