Since then, the Devils have extended only Thomas Bordeleau,<\/a> and it has otherwise been quiet.<\/p>\n Clearly, there is a standoff between the youngest Hughes brother and the Devils. No one is sounding the alarms yet, there\u2019s still time to sort this deal out. However, as if the standoff didn\u2019t have Devils fans on the edge of their seat to this point, a newly surfaced factor\u2014at least to the public eye\u2014could be impacting negotiations.<\/p>\n On the latest episode of 32 Thought\u2019s podcast<\/a>, Elliotte Friedman explained with the cap rising, and as it will continue to rise for the next several seasons, the market is going through a reset.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I get, I get Devil\u2019s fans asking me all the time, what\u2019s going on with Luke Hughes?\u00a0 The Canadians fans are wondering about Lane Hutson.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that with the cap going up, the market is getting reset. I don\u2019t see problems getting these guys signed, but I do see the sweet spot for both team and player being a challenge. Everybody just trying to figure out where that is,\u201d Friedman said.<\/p>\n One of the hurdles in the process of getting Hughes signed to a new deal is the revelation that teams do, in fact, read what the media puts out there. Recently, The Athletic published the top-10 bargain contracts in the NHL, featuring Jack Hughes. According to Friedman, there are teams who don\u2019t like to appear on such a list.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what it sounds like is that one of the things that\u2019s really obvious, Kyle [Bukauskas], is that there are a lot of players who don\u2019t want to sign a contract that quickly goes and looks like too much of a bargain. And so, for example, this week, The Athletic did an article which was the top-10 best value contracts in the league. And the funniest reaction I had to that was that someone told me that there are teams out there who hate being on that list. Like if they get a player who\u2019s on that list, they think it makes it harder to negotiate contracts with another player. Because agents will say, \u2018Oh, you got that guy. Well, you\u2019re not getting me.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yeah, it does happen. I\u2019ve been told that this does occur. And you\u2019d think the teams would be upset about being on the, \u2018These are the worst contracts [reports],\u2019 and I\u2019m sure they are. But I had a couple of guys tell me that you also don\u2019t want to be on the best list because then people really grind in and dig against you,\u201d Friedman explained.<\/p>\n Not only did Jack Hughes make the top-10 list by<\/a> The Athletic, but he was first overall. The way Hughes\u2019 contract was determined the biggest bargain was by comparing his net rating and the expected salary associated with it to a players current contract. As a result, there\u2019s a $38 million differential, or $7.6 million per season over the next five years that Hughes should be making, but isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n It should come as no surprise to learn that both Jack and Luke Hughes<\/a> have the same agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports.<\/p>\n Perhaps Brisson is one of those agents who doesn\u2019t like to see Hughes on the bargain deal throne, while Fitzgerald has a mutual feeling despite their respective reasons.<\/p>\n The negotiations very well could come down to percentage of the cap. When Jack Hughes<\/a> signed, his $8 million cap hit accounted for roughly 10.8% of the Devils\u2019 cap. Hughes then blossomed during the 2022-23 season into the elite, impact forward the Devils believed he would be after selecting him first overall in 2019, scoring 43 goals and 99 points that season.<\/p>\n On cap percentage, Friedman explained, \u201cIt\u2019s very obvious out there that teams are trying to hold the line and say, \u2018OK, well, the top players are going to get what they\u2019re going to get.\u2019 But it\u2019s very obvious that some of the teams are trying to say, \u2018Hey, whatever percentage was signed in this contract before this cap bump, we don\u2019t want to do that.\u2019 Because, for example, a percentage that might be worth, say, say for argument\u2019s sake, five or six million, well, that could be going up in the next couple of years to seven, eight, nine million. And they\u2019re like, \u2018We don\u2019t want to do that. We don\u2019t want to argue percentage anymore.\u2019 And the players, of course, are going to argue percentage.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt that Fitzgerald would love to get his brother, Luke, secured to a contract with similar benefits to his salary cap situation for the long-haul, despite not wanting to appear on such lists that could impact future negotiations.<\/p>\n And although there\u2019s mutual interest between the Devils and Luke Hughes on a long-term extension, both Hughes\u2019 agent and the player very well could this very situation in the back of their minds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing I\u2019m always reminded about, we don\u2019t talk about it very much, Kyle, is that like these players, they don\u2019t only only compete on the ice. They compete in terms of contracts. I have several agents who say to me, especially with younger players\u2026 they\u2019re even more competitive than ever when it comes to their contracts. And so they don\u2019t want to sign contracts that they look back at in a year or two and say, \u2018Oh, I really regret signing that.’\u201d<\/p>\n For more\u00a0Devils news<\/a>, visit\u00a0New Jersey Hockey Now<\/a>, subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0and like our\u00a0Facebook page.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Follow us on\u00a0\ud835\udd4f<\/strong>:<\/p>\n @NJDHockeyNow<\/a>,\u00a0@JamesNicholsNHL<\/a><\/p>\n And on Threads:<\/p>\n @JamesNicholsNHL<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/NJHN-plus.png.webp.webp\")
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