Declined: New Jersey Devils reportedly didn't come close to landing former Vancouver Canuck Quinn Hughes
The New Jersey Devils reportedly didn't come close to landing former Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes despite making attempts over the last week.
Leading up to Friday's trade of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, the former Vancouver Canucks captain was drawing a ton of attention from around the National Hockey League, including the New Jersey Devils.
"Once Vancouver announced they were open for business, sent that email around to the league, I do believe there was a conversation, at least one, between the New Jersey Devils and Canucks about Quinn Hughes and I stress, I do not believe there is anything imminent, I don't even know that they're anywhere far along. But I do believe that conversation was had about where things stand and where they might be going." Elliotte Friedman reported about New Jersey's interest in Quinn Hughes last weekend.
While the Devils had some interesting pieces that could've been included in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks, it doesn't look like they got very close to uniting the three Hughes brothers after all.
New Jersey Devils reportedly didn't get close to landing Quinn Hughes
In an article for Pucks and Pitchforks on Saturday, Jonathan Bailey shared that the New Jersey Devils' trade offer didn't come close to netting them Quinn Hughes, with names such as Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey and centerman Dawson Mercer being mentioned as potential options for GM Tom Fitzgerald to include in his package.
"The biggest issue for the Devils, based on the return the Canucks got from Minnesota, has to be the lack of a young center. Rossi is a young, natural center, and the closest the Devils could have gotten to that is Dawson Mercer, who has primarily featured as a winger and only shifts to center in dire emergencies, such as the persistent Jack Hughes injury situations." Bailey said.
According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Devils feel like they made a strong offer to the Vancouver Canucks, with it being unclear what assets were included, but it ultimately wasn't enough to get a deal done.
"Hearing the New Jersey Devils made what they feel was a strong first offer to Vancouver on Quinn Hughes but it didn't generate enough traction obviously." LeBrun said.
With Quinn Hughes now in The State of Hockey, the New Jersey Devils will now have to wait until the summer of 2027 for their next chance to bring the former Norris Trophy winner to town and it looks like they might have a decent opportunity to do so given they have a projected $47.125 million available in cap space for the '27-28 season according to PuckPedia.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 13|2410 ANSWERS Declined: New Jersey Devils reportedly didn't come close to landing former Vancouver Canuck Quinn Hughes Do you think Quinn Hughes will ultimately end up with the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2027? | ||
| Yes | 1438 | 59.7 % |
| No | 972 | 40.3 % |
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