The New Jersey Devils reached a seven-year, $63 million contract with restricted free agent defenceman Luke Hughes on Wednesday.
The deal carries an average annual value of $9 million for Hughes, whose brother, Jack, is signed through 2029-30 at a cap hit of $8 million with the Devils.
The 22-year-old is now tied for the team’s highest cap hit this season with fellow blueliner Dougie Hamilton, who is under contract through 2027-28. Forward Timo Meier is just behind the duo at a cap hit of $8.8 million through 2030-31, followed by Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt ($7.875M through 2030-31), Nico Hischier ($7.25M through next season) and Ondrej Palat ($6M through next season).
Greetings from Hughes Jersey. Our boy is here to stay.#NJDevils | #MadeInJersey pic.twitter.com/Dw4kJIfhhh
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 1, 2025
Hughes scored seven goals and finished with 44 points in 71 games last season, his third in the NHL.
In 155 career NHL games, Hughes has 17 goals and 93 points.
The Devils said Hughes will report to training camp on Thursday, having been absent to this point as negotiations took place.
Devils announce seven-year deal x $9M AAV for Luke Hughes. Both sides had a breakthrough in talks late last night.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 1, 2025
New Jersey gave a couple of new offers to Hughes' camp on Monday. Neither were accepted. But another offer late Tuesday night did the trick.
The left-handed defenceman was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft. He made his NHL debut in April 2023.
More details to follow.
