Luke Hughes signs a contract of $ 63 million with devils 7 years and 63 million dollars

Wednesday, Luke Hughes signed a $ 63 million contract with New Jersey Devils. It has an average annual value of $ 9 million.

The 22 -year -old defender, who was a limited free agent, had 44 points (seven goals, 37 assists) in 71 regular season games last season. He should train with them on Thursday.

The director general Tom Fitzgerald, on July 2, reiterated three times that the new signature of Hughes was his “priority n ° 1”. He said the same thing when the New Jersey opened the training camp on September 18.

“We will sign it,” said Fitzgerald. “I said it earlier … The top priority is to sign Luke Hughes to a long -term agreement. This is our goal. This has not changed.

“This is part of the process. We grind together and present the stories of the two parties and where we want to go with it, respecting everyone’s opinions.”

Hughes was limited to a match in the Stanley Cup qualifiers after having undergone a shoulder injury against the Hurricanes of Caroline in match 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference on April 20. The Devils lost the series for the best of 7 in five games and Hughes suffered shoulder surgery 10 days after being injured.

The choice n ° 4 of the Devils in the draft of the NHL 2021, Hughes has 93 points (17 goals, 76 assists) in 155 regular season games and two assists in four playoffs.

Luke’s Brother, Center Jack Hughes, is Entering the Foundth Season of An Eight-Year, $ 64 million Contract ($ 8 million Average Annual Value) He signed with the Devils on Nov. 30, 2021. Defenseman Quinn Hughes, Who is the Eldest of the Hughes Brothers, Has Two Seas Six-Year, $ 47.1 million Contract ($ 7.85 million AAV) He signed with the vancouver canucks on October 3, 2021.

The main writer of NHL.com, Mike G. Morreale, contributed to this report