Quinn Hughes playing next to Jack and Luke in New Jersey isn't just a fantasy anymore. There's an actual path being floated.
The idea involves a three-way deal. Hughes lands with the Devils, and Dylan Larkin heads to Minnesota to fill the hole he'd leave behind.
For New Jersey, the appeal is obvious. Hughes has long talked about wanting to play alongside his brothers at some point in his career.
Jack Hughes posted 77 points in just 61 games this season, and pairing him long-term with Quinn on the same roster would be a real building block.
Luke Hughes is currently day-to-day and questionable for the start of the season, which adds a wrinkle to how quickly a reshaped blue line could actually come together.
New Jersey finished 42-37-3 for 87 points this season, 21st overall, under head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Hughes isn't rushing to sign anywhere right now, and that patience is exactly what keeps this scenario alive for the Devils.
What New Jersey would actually have to give up
Reports suggest New Jersey would need to include Dawson Mercer, goaltender Nico Daws, and Seamus Casey to make this deal work.
Mercer posted 42 points in 82 games this season, while Daws went 1-1-1 in three appearances with a .907 save percentage.
That's a real cost. Mercer is a top-six piece, and moving him would leave a scoring gap New Jersey would need to fill elsewhere.
But locking in a $9,000,000 cap hit for seven years to secure a player of Hughes' caliber is the kind of swing that changes a franchise's trajectory.
The Devils' front office, led by GM Tom Fitzgerald, would rather make this move now than watch Hughes walk to New Jersey as a free agent next summer for nothing in return.
Nothing here happens without Detroit sorting out its own front office mess first, since the Red Wings still don't have a permanent GM steering trade calls.
For now, this stays a proposal. But if Hughes keeps dragging his feet on an extension in Minnesota, New Jersey's phone is exactly where this could eventually land.
Should the Devils give up Dawson Mercer to land Quinn Hughes?
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