Bill Guerin appears to want to accomplish what former New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald couldn't. He wants to reunite the Hughes brothers, but in Minnesota.
According to a report from Michael Russo via The Athletic, the Wild GM attempted to trade for Luke Hughes — the youngest of the three NHL phenoms — during the 2025-26 season.
Idea? After ambushing the Devils for Quinn Hughes and luring him to Minnesota, get Luke and sign superstar forward Jack Hughes if he becomes a free agent in 2030.
"Everyone knows the Hughes brothers want to play together. Maybe Jack wants to come to Minnesota to join forces with Quinn instead of waiting now or doing it the other way," Russo wrote in his latest. "That would be complicated, however, because it's hard to believe that Jack would leave his youngest brother, Luke, behind with the New Jersey Devils. That's why, according to league sources, the Wild made an offer to former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald to acquire Luke last season. Still, it seems unlikely that new GM Sunny Mehta's first move would be to trade Jack Hughes. The same can be said for Hischier, He's eligible for an extension this offseason, though. And if the Devils get the impression the Skipper won't move, you can bet they'll put him on the market."
Fitzgerald is no longer in the GM chair as he and the Devils parted ways and New Jersey hired Sunny Mehta as its sixth GM in franchise history.
Fitzgerald's departure stemmed from Ball dropping the ball in the Quinn saga when he was still in Vancouver and preferred to ply his trade in New Jersey.
However, the ex-Devils GM did do one thing right by nabbing the youngest Hughes brother.
Not only is Luke projected to emerge as the Devils' No. 1 defenseman, but holding on to him gives New Jersey its best chance to keep Jack long-term.
The Devils signed Luke to a long-term, seven-year contract last September, with six years remaining after the 2025–26 season.
This will be an interesting summer for both the Devils and the Wild.
Quinn is eligible to sign an extension on July 1 as he has one year remaining on his contract. It remains to be seen whether he does so or not, but it's no secret that Quinn has been highly complimentary of the Wild organization—specifically Guerin.
The Devils have decisions to make themselves this summer, namely the pending free agent contracts in Simon Nemec and Arseniy Gritsyuk, as well as Nico Hischier who, like Quinn, is eligible for an extension on July 1 with one year left on his deal.
We know Guerin will continue his aggressive approach to upgrading the Wild while also doing everything he can to keep Quinn in Minny.
However, Mehta's approach remains to be seen as a first-time GM in the NHL.
