Devils' Luke Hughes To Miss Weeks To Open Season With Injury

The New Jersey Devils were hit with tough news as their skilled sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes will be out approximately 6-8 weeks. He suffered a left shoulder injury earlier in September when he was doing offseason training and he will not require surgery.

#NEWS: The New Jersey Devils announced today that defenseman Luke Hughes suffered a left shoulder injury earlier this month during off-season training. Upon examination by New Jersey’s medical staff, it was determined that he will not require surgery.

Hughes’ recovery time is… pic.twitter.com/i5OJlnxG2Q
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 12, 2024

Hughes will be missed on the back-end to start the season. He stepped in for Dougie Hamilton on the top power-play unit and did a great job as a rookie. Hughes is expected to play on the second line with Brett Pesce when healthy, but since the 21-year-old is out, offseason acquisition Brenden Dillon will slide up and Johnathan Kovacevic will step in.

Luke Hughes scored nine goals and recorded 47 points in 82 games last season, but was also a -25. He produced 25 of those points on the power play and finished third in Calder Trophy voting. It is a loss for a Devils team that made strong adds and are looking to get back to the playoffs, but they should be able to survive without Hughes as he won't miss too many games to open the season if there are no setbacks.