The New Jersey Devils trading Nico Hischier is a bad idea. However, not trading for Quinn Hughes is also a bad idea.
You have to give to get.
I want to reiterate that I am not advocating that the Devils should move Hischier. They should build around him and Jack Hughes as their 1-2 center punch.
After all, the Devils are spoiled with having Hischier—who is undoubtedly a top-line center—on the second line.
Yet, you’re not getting Quinn without a premium return. And If you can acquire arguably the best defenseman in the league, you do it.
This is more than just about uniting the Hughes brothers. Yet, the Minnesota Wild seem equally as interested as the Devils are to employ them all on one team.
The proof?
Bill Guerin tried to bring in Luke Hughes in via Devils trade after he reeled Quinn in from Vancouuver last season.
That would undoubtedly help Guerin sign Jack as a free agent in 2030. Yet, the Devils didn’t entertain Guerin’s pursuit of Luke, and the Devils remain with two of three Hughes brother.
Sunny Mehta isn’t Tom Fitzgerald, however. How much—if at all—does he desire uniting the Hughes tri-force?
How much—if at all—does he desire trading his captain in exchange for Quinn?
It seems unlikely. Yet, if the nuclear option to acquire Quinn for Hischier does come to fruition, there are options that should be available this summer to fill the center void, albeit, not as well as the Devils captain.
Perhaps Quinn’s presence covers up for any deficiencies left by Hishcier because, although you’re upgrading with Quinn, you’re downgrading at center.
Ryan O’Reilly—Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators were treating Ryan O’Reilly with kid gloves last season.
O’Reilly has no protection from trade, yet Predators GM Barry Trotz was treating him as if he did. Thus, despite all the trade speculation, O’Reilly remained in Nashville as they made a push for the playoffs.
They didn’t make it, and now there will be a new GM in Nashville.
Who will be at the helm in Nashville is yet to be determined, but after the roller coaster season, a new GM should be open to moving O’Reilly who is going into the last year of his contract on a roster that needs to get younger.
O’Reilly is cut from the same cloth as Hischier. He may not have elite metrics in the neutral and defensive zones anymore, but he’s still on the bubble.
In his age-34 season, O’Reilly scored 25 goals and 74 points in 81 games. That’s fewer goals than Hischier (28) but more points (66) while winning 55.8% of faceoffs.
You’re betting on O’Reilly’s game to hold up at 35 years old as a potential short-term stopgap solution and a pending free-agent to fill a void.
Mason McTavish—Anaheim Ducks
You’d be buying on the upside here.
It seems things are rocky between the Anaheim Ducks and Mason McTavish who served as a healthy scratch more often than not in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs through two rounds.
The Ducks were eliminated on Thursday night. Now the focus turns to the offseason where they will undoubtedly look to improve on a very—unexpectedly—successful 2025-26.
Yet, McTavish serving as a healthy scratch in their most important games in seven seasons speaks volumes on where he stands in the eyes of Joel Quenneville.
Now the Ducks will have to decide on his future, similarly to how they did with Trevor Zegras last summer.
And that worked out pretty well for the Philadelphia Flyers.
McTavish just finished the first year of a six-year contract with a $7 million average annual value. Going into his age-24 season, there’s still a lot to like about McTavish’s game.
The Ducks forward has shown good scoring touch with occasional high-end flashes—winning battles along the wall, driving through contact, and making sharp plays in tight areas—but his skating and defensive reliability remain clear areas of limitated consistency so far.
Perhaps Quinn’s tarplike ability to cover the ice would make up for defensive deficiencies here. And the Ducks would certainly be selling low on the player.
Shane Wright—Seattle Kraken
For a more defensively reliable option, Shane Wright brings some intriguing tools to his game — he’s a strong small-area player with solid wheels and reliable defense.
That said, in both of his NHL seasons he’s seen very limited puck touches, which makes it tough to project him as a true driver given how constrained his overall involvement has been.
Instead, he’d need to be supported by two premier top-six wingers. Perhaps Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer would be enough support until Wright figures out how to drive play on his own—or rather IF he figures out how to drive play on his own.
The Kraken were dangling Wright to make a splash of their own at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. In this situation, the Devils are a fit for the 22-year-old going into the final year of his entry-level contract. And there’s upside to Wright developing into said playdriver.
Wright was more successful in his first full season in 2024-25 scoring 19 goals and 44 points in 79 games whereas he scored just 12 goals and 27 points last season.
Perhaps in a more offensive system in New Jersey—as opposed to Seattle—he can unlock what made him so popular in his draft year.
Related Headlines
