The New Jersey Devils and defender Luke Hughes agreed with a seven years, $ 63 million contract.
New Jersey Devils defender Luke Hughes (NHL images).
Hughes, 22, earns an average annual value of $ 9 million, which connects him with colleague Blueliner Dougie Hamilton for the highest AAV on the Devils. Puckpedia indicates That the deal also contains a list of 10 teams No-Trade in the last two years.
Note from the Spector: Hughes gets a significant increase. He comes from his entry -level contract with an AAV of $ 925K.
Hughes, a competent puck-moving defender, was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2023-24. He has missed the majority of their training camp and can struggle through the first weeks of this season while trying to get back into game form.
Nevertheless, the Devils see him as their future no. 1 Blueliner. If he is doing well in that role, his annual cap -hit in the long term could become a bargain.
Hughes’ new contract pushes the Devils above the salary limit of $ 95.5 million with more than $ 3.9 million. In the short term they can compensate for that by putting aside defender Johnathan Kovacevic and his AAV of $ 4 million in a long -term injuries reserve to start the season. Surviving Stefen Noesen ($ 2.75 million) could also end in LTIR.
Kovacevic and Noesen will not be expected for the season. That means that the devils have to free the Cap room when they return.
#Luke #Hughes #signed #devilishly #year #contract