- Jack Hughes pointed at the cap math when asked about Quinn joining him and Luke in New Jersey
- Quinn is entering the last year of a $7.85 million deal with a much bigger raise coming
- Read below for the full quotes from the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas
Jack Hughes is not selling the idea that all three Hughes brothers end up in New Jersey any time soon.
The Devils center was asked at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas on Wednesday whether watching Matthew and Brady Tkachuk team up in Florida made him want Quinn in a Devils sweater even more. He went straight to the money, per Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff.
“No, not at all because there’s so much that goes into play, right? Brady’s making $8.1 (million). I mean, that’s a much easier contract to move. Me and Luke are playing together. Matthew and Brady are now playing together. It’s much easier for two brothers to play together than three.”
He wasn’t finished on his older brother.
“And then on top of that, Quinn is one of the best players in the league and has a huge deal that’s going to be coming. Yeah, I’m happy for Matthew and Brady because I know how much fun they’ll have because I get to do that with Luke, and I’m excited for them.”
Money is the whole point here. Brady Tkachuk is playing on an $8.1 million cap hit, which is what made him movable when Ottawa sent him to the Panthers this summer.
Quinn is a different animal. He is heading into the final season of the six-year contract he signed with Vancouver in October 2021, and that deal carries a $7.85 million cap hit. His next one is widely expected to clear eight figures by a comfortable margin.
Minnesota has made locking him up the top item on its list, and nothing has been signed. The star defenseman can reach unrestricted free agency after the 2026-27 season if the two sides never get there.
Dan Rosen of NHL.com asked Jack whether winning Olympic gold alongside Quinn in Milan made the two of them want an NHL reunion even more.
“Yeah, I think that, you know, we’ve always wanted to play with each other. Winning in Milan was an unbelievable feat that we could do together, but I don’t think he’s going to sacrifice what’s best for him for us to play together. I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see what he does.”
That is the line Wild fans will want framed. Quinn was on the same Las Vegas media schedule Wednesday with his own contract questions waiting for him.
Luke and Jack have been teammates in New Jersey since the spring of 2023, and Jack has never once hidden that he wants the third brother there too. He is just refusing to pretend the salary cap makes it simple.
