New Jersey Devils announce the severity of star defenseman Luke Hughes' injury

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Tom Banks
September 12, 2024 (4:13 PM)

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The New Jersey Devils are Stanley Cup contenders heading into the 2024/25 season, but now they may be without a key piece of their team to start the year.

Training camp is beginning around the NHL with the season rapidly approaching, but unfortunately, that sometimes means injuries will occur, and now the Devils have confirmed a brutal one. As announced by the team's social media, defenseman Luke Hughes has suffered a shoulder injury, but fortunately, they've got some good news as well.

Early fears were that Hughes could require surgery, but the team confirms that he will avoid that, and will ultimately be out for six to eight weeks, meaning that while he may miss some minutes in the regular season, he'll be back with plenty of time to impact the team in 2024/25.

Last season was Hughes' first full one in the NHL, and even with the hype on him due to his talent and his two talented brothers, he delivered in a big way, with 9 goals and 47 points over 82 games showing that the 21-year old isn't someone to be overlooked. When healthy, he's expected to take up a role on the Devils second pairing this season alongside veteran Brett Pesce, so the hope is that he can recover quickly and be back by mid November, and if that's the case, this team is as good a chance as anyone in the Eastern Conference to make a run to the Stanley Cup Finals.