Projecting Luke Hughes' Next Devils Contract

Tom Fitzgerald said he plans to talk extension with Luke Hughes' agent after the holidays. What could his next New Jersey Devils contract look like?

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Luke Hughes has been everything the New Jersey Devils could have asked for to begin the 2024-25 season. As such, a payday is coming his way since he will be a restricted free agent this summer.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald mentioned he plans to sit down with Hughes' agent to talk about his contract after the holidays. An extension was always going to be pricey, but has the price increased with his start to the season?

Hughes' 2024-25 Season So Far

Hughes missed the start of the season after suffering an injury training during the offseason, but there don't seem to be any lingering effects from that injury.

The Devils have been one of the best defensive teams in the NHL to start 2024-25, and Hughes has been a big part of it with Brett Pesce as his defense partner.

Though Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic get most of the hype, Hughes and Pesce would qualify as most teams shutdown pair with the numbers they're posting.

In 361 minutes together, Hughes and Pesce have an expected goals share (xG%) of 59.74 percent at five-on-five. They're creating 3.05 expected goals per 60 minutes while allowing just 2.05 per 60.

Granted, head coach Sheldon Keefe isn't giving them the most difficult deployment; that belongs to Siegenthaler and Kovacevic. Still, they're posting excellent numbers together.

One might expect Hughes to have more than 11 points in 25 games, but it's not because he isn't creating offense. The Devils are averaging 3.01 expected goals per 60 minutes when he's on the ice. They just aren't scoring much, as they have an on-ice shooting percentage of 6.6 percent in his five-on-five minutes.

The points will come for Hughes, and it seems that may already be occurring; he has nine points in his last 12 games. But by any metric, he's been fantastic this season. Given his age, he's only going to get better. So what could his next contract look like?