Luke Hughes out 6-8 weeks with shoulder injury
New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes will miss the start of the 2024-25 regular season after suffering a shoulder injury during offseason training that'll keep him out six-to-eight weeks, the team announced Thursday.
Hughes' ailment doesn't require surgery.
The recovery timeline projects Hughes to miss between about 10 and 20 games.
Hughes was a Calder Trophy finalist in 2023-24 after scoring 47 points in 82 contests while averaging 21:28 per game.
The 21-year-old phenom was set to begin the season on the second defense pair with prized offseason acquisition Brett Pesce. Hughes was also expected to challenge Dougie Hamilton to quarterback the No. 1 power-play unit.
Veteran Brenden Dillon is a likely candidate to take Hughes' spot on the second pairing. Johnathan Kovacevic could enter the lineup in Hughes' place, though his presence would give the Devils four right-shooting blue-liners. Jakub Zboril, who's in camp on a professional tryout, and minor leaguers Colton White and Santeri Hatakka are among the left-shooting candidates for the lineup.
Simon Nemec could see an increased role on the power play to begin the year.
The Devils open the regular season with a pair of games in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 5 and 6.