New Jersey Devils continue to be linked to Quinn Hughes trade

The New Jersey Devils are keeping a very close eye on Minnesota Wild defenceman Quinn Hughes. Hughes has yet to sign a contract extension with the Wild, after they gave up a four-piece mega-deal to the Vancouver Canucks last season to acquire the Norris Trophy winning defenceman.

It's no secret that Quinn prefers playing hockey in New Jersey with his two brothers, but many across the industry were wondering how exactly they were going to pull it off. From the looks of it now, the Devils may get their chance to make a move and acquire Hughes at some point next season. If Bill Guerin doesn't have a contract extension inked before March's trade deadline, fully expect to see Quinn moved. The only thing is, he doesn't have any trade protection and can be moved at will. Hughes has one year left on his contract at $7.8 million.

A contending team could very well swoop in and trade for Hughes, even though they know he won't re-sign there, and it would be strictly for a Stanley Cup run. The Devils may see this as a holding pattern for next season, as they don't necessarily want to give up a big trade package to acquire Hughes, when they could just wait until July 1 to sign him, without losing some big core pieces moving forward.

As far as trade chips go, the Wild will have interest in forward Dawson Mercer and defenceman Seamus Casey. The Devils have worked their cap out where they could fit Hughes in right now with no questions asked, but again, this is a move that won't likely happen until slightly before March, unless Hughes makes it crystal clear to Guerin he has no indication of re-signing, which could mean he pulls the trigger on a move to maximize the trade return.

Keep an eye on these two teams, there's no doubt Hughes wants to play with his brothers, it's just a matter if he'll stick to his guns and wait this all out.