With pressure building for the Canucks over star defenseman Quinn Hughes’ future with Vancouver, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald believes he has the upper hand over the Canucks, and has the assets and firepower to bring the former Norris trophy winner to New Jersey to link up with his two brothers Luke and Jack to form a trio every Devils fan dreams of.
A poor end to the season following a 4-1 series defeat to the Hurricanes left Devils fans wondering what went wrong, but being plagued by injuries, and a lack of activity at the trade deadline it is easy to see how their season came to such an abrupt end. But even in the absence of Jack Hughes, the defensive issues for the Devils didn't exactly help their case, and could continue to haunt them given no changes be made this offseason.
With Brian Dumoulin’s $3.15 million cap hit coming to an end, likely to hit free agency, and Luke Hughes and Brended Dillon still battling injuries, it is likely that Swiss international Jonas Siegenthaler and even former second overall selection Simon Nemec could be available on the trade block. But with Siegenthaler’s value not looking too great, the Devils could turn to former Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton as their wildcard chip to use in a blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade.
Of course, Hamilton on his own will not be so appealing to the Canucks front office, but throwing in Simon Nemec who hasn't had time to fully prove himself in New Jersey, but still has time to show his skills, and Dawson Mercer who has proved he can be a lethal scorer, and at a young age of 23, and with a cap hit of only $4 million AAV, he is a very desirable asset for a team in a situation like Vancouver’s, and could be the perfect player to take a chance on. But would that be enough? If the Devils were serious enough about bringing Quinn to the team this year or even next year, Hamilton, Nemec, and Mercer would be a viable package, but for a 25 year old Norris trophy winning All-Star like Quinn Hughes, the Canucks may want a couple more sweeteners. Those sweeteners being valuable draft picks.
With no round one pick this year, but two attractive first rounders in 2026 and 2027, the Canucks could look to add one of those favourable picks to the package in order to move Hughes for a massive haul, but would the Devils be in fear of overpaying? Not particularly. With some amazing and reliable defenseman in this years and next year's free agency, along with a really good prospect pool of future talent, losing some assets who are past their sell by date like Hamilton wouldn't be a bad move, and two players like Mercer and Nemec who may have already hit their ceiling wouldn't be a bad loss either. Yes, losing a first next year or the year after would hurt, but moving one for arguably the best defenseman in the league wouldn't be too crazy.
A 2027 first round pick, a 2027 second round pick, Simon Nemec, Dawson Mercer is one of the many trade packages which could convince the Canucks, but had the day come that we see Quinn Hughes lace up his skates in a Devils jersey, the Canucks quill make sure they get every bit of value they can from New Jersey.
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