James Nichols
It appears Bill Guerin wants to finish what ex-New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald couldn’t. He wants to unite the Hughes brothers, but in Minnesota.
According to a report by Michael Russo via The Athletic, the Wild GM attempted to trade for Luke Hughes—the youngest of the three NHL phenoms—in a trade amid the 2025-26 season.
The idea? After ambushing the Devils for Quinn Hughes and reeling him in to Minnesota, acquire Luke and sign superstar forward Jack Hughes if and when he becomes a free agent in 2030.
“Everybody knows the Hughes brothers want to play together. Maybe Jack wants to come to Minnesota now to join forces with Quinn rather than wait or have it the other way around,” Russo wrote in his latest. “It would be complicated, though, because it’s hard to believe Jack would leave their youngest brother, Luke, behind with the New Jersey Devils. That may be why, per league sources, the Wild made a pitch to former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald to acquire Luke this past season. Still, it seems unlikely that new GM Sunny Mehta’s first move will be trading Jack Hughes. The same could be said for Hischier, though he’s extension eligible this offseason. And if the Devils get the impression the captain won’t extend, you can bet they’ll put him on the market.”
Fitzgerald is no longer in the GM chair as after he and the Devils parted ways and New Jersey has since hired Sunny Mehta as their sixth GM in franchise history.
Fitzgerald’s departure came on the back of dropping the ball in the Quinn saga when he was still in Vancouver and preferred to be traded to New Jersey.
However, the ex-Devils GM did get one thing right by holding onto the youngest Hughes brother.
Not only is Luke projected to blossom into the Devils’ No.1 defenseman, but hanging onto him gives New Jersey their best chance to keep Jack in the longrun.
The Devils signed Luke last September to a long-term, seven-year contract that has six years remaining following the 2025-26 season.
It will be an interesting summer for both the Devils and the Wild.
Quinn is eligible to sign an extension on July 1st with one year left on his contract. Whether he does or doesn’t remains to be seen, but it’s no secret that Quinn has been extremely complimentary of the Wild organization—specifically Guerin.
The Devils have decisions to make themselves this summer, namly with pending free agent contracts in Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk, as well as Nico Hischier who is eligible for an extension on July 1st like Quinn with a year left on his deal.
We know Guerin will continue his aggressive approach at upgrading the Wild while simultaniously doing everything he can to keep Quinn in Minny.
Mehta’s approach, however, remains to be seen as a first time GM in the NHL.
