The New Jersey Devils took care of some housekeeping today, signing 2019 1st overall pick Jack Hughes to a three-year entry-level contract.
As was the case with fellow No. 1 Nico Hischier, who also inked his ELC in mid-July, the deal will carry a maximum base salary of $925,000, and the maximum in performance bonuses that can be doled out.
One would think Hughes has a good chance at hitting several of them. There's no doubting the high-end skillset he possesses and he'll have solid linemates to work with.
Barring a shockingly poor training camp, Hughes will start the year centering the 2nd scoring line – likely alongside Jesper Bratt and Wayne Simmonds (or Kyle Palmieri). I'd expect them to be fed a lot of offensive zone starts against softer competition, which should help the cause as far as scoring goes.
Hughes brings a lot of traits the Devils needed – high-end speed, creativity, neutral zone prowess, etc. – and they should be on full display when preseason begins in September.
Signing his entry-level deal is just the next step towards ensuring that's the case.
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