.Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterSep 12, 2024, 02:13 PM ETCloseRyan S. Clark is actually an NHL press reporter for ESPN.New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes will certainly require in between six to eight full weeks to bounce back coming from a shoulder injury he endured earlier this month, the staff said Thursday.Hughes experienced a nigh side shoulder accident in the course of offseason training. After being actually evaluated due to the Devils' medical team, it was identified he would not need surgical procedure and that it might take much more than 6 full weeks for him to recover.That timetable implies Hughes will miss the Devils' seven preseason video games and their season-opening games on Oct. 4 as well as Oct. 5 against the Buffalo Grass Sabres in Prague, Czechia. The earliest he might come back would certainly be actually the week of Oct. twenty, which means the Devils will have already played 8 regular-season games.Losing Hughes for even a brief time frame follows he used his newbie initiative to bolster why he is actually taken into consideration one of the video game's brightest young superstars. Hughes completed last time along with six goals and 47 points while additionally being just one of five Devils to play in all 82 games.What Hughes accomplished as a rookie led to him finishing third in Calder Trophy ballot behind the ultimate winner, Chicago Blackhawks facility Connor Bedard, as well as Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.Hughes and Faber were actually the only newbie defensemen that played all 82 video games final season. They were additionally matched for 2nd among novices in factors along with Bedard leading the league's first-year players with 61 points.Once Hughes is actually gotten rid of to return, he's anticipated to become a crucial component of the Devils' plannings to go back to the playoffs. Hughes, who was actually the 4th choice of the 2021 NHL Draught, spent two years establishing at the University of Michigan, which also produced his sibling Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks leader who is actually likewise the reigning Norris Prize champion for the NHL's finest defenseman.Hughes left Michigan after pair of times as well as signed his entry-level agreement with the Devils. It permitted him to join his brother and also Devils alternative captain, Port, for the staff's playoff run throughout the 2023 Stanley Mug playoffs.The Devils won 52 games during the 2022-23 period as well as accelerated to the playoffs for the first time in 4 times. They opened up with a first-round triumph over the rival New York Rangers in 7 video games just before shedding in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes.Last season viewed the Devils struggle to locate consistency and also overlook the playoffs. It brought about all of them parting means along with crown trainer Lindy Ruff as well as tapping the services of acting instructor Travis Veggie just before they then tapped the services of previous Toronto Walnut Leafs trainer Sheldon Keefe in old Might.