"The New Jersey Devils are a perplexing mess of losing hockey games over the past month and a half. Some blame Jack Hughes freak hand injury (he has since returned). Some blame the "Prudential Center mummies" with a sense of humor. There is one event so far this season that seems like an unlikely turning point for the worst: the trade of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild."
"The writing was on the wall that Quinn Hughes' time with the Vancouver Canucks was going to be ending. All signs, even his own admissions, pointed to the Devils being his preferred destination to play with his brothers Jack and Luke. Finally the Canucks seemed ready to make the long anticipated move in a scenario where the Devils seemingly had all the leverage. Instead Quinn Hughes found himself wearing, and thriving, in a Wild sweater."
"Not surprisingly the Devils were one of the many teams in the mix for Quinn Hughes. Rumor has it Minnesota had some concerns with the proposed trade package. The real deal breaker that saw Quinn land in the twin cities was New Jersey's inability to clear cap to make a deal happen. Minnesota, even with Kirill Kaprisov being the NHL's highest paid players, had a plethora of young cheap prospects ready to send to British Columbia."
"During general manager Tom Fitzgerald's tenure he has been known to give out NTC almost like candy. That has led to problems to potentially moving "dead weight" from this current roster like the diminished offensively Dougie Hamilton and incredibly struggling with a hefty price tag Ondrej Palat. Hamilton found himself benched in their Sunday loss to the Winnipeg Jets while Palat remains in the lineup and has not been asked to waive his NTC."
The New Jersey Devils have struggled recently, losing many games over the past month and a half. Jack Hughes suffered a freak hand injury but has since returned. A pivotal setback was the Canucks trading Quinn Hughes to Minnesota, a deal the Devils could not complete due to inability to clear cap space. Minnesota offered cheap young prospects including Zeev Buium, who would have been a draft target for New Jersey. General manager Tom Fitzgerald has granted numerous no-trade clauses, complicating moves of high-priced, underperforming players like Dougie Hamilton and Ondrej Palat. Hamilton was benched while Palat remains in the lineup. Fitzgerald's drafting record has produced few standouts such as Dawson Mercer.
Read at Puck Prose
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