.Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterSep 12, 2024, 02:13 PM ETCloseRyan S. Clark is actually an NHL press reporter for ESPN.New Shirt Devils defenseman Luke Hughes will certainly need to have between six to 8 weeks to recuperate coming from a shoulder injury he suffered earlier this month, the group stated Thursday.Hughes endured a left side shoulder injury in the course of offseason instruction. After being actually reviewed by the Devils' medical staff, it was actually determined he would certainly not call for surgical treatment and also it could possibly take greater than six weeks for him to recover.That timeline means Hughes will skip the Devils' 7 preseason games and also their season-opening games on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 against the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia. The earliest he can return would certainly be actually the full week of Oct. 20, which suggests the Devils would certainly have already participated in eight regular-season games.Losing Hughes for also a short time frame happens after he used his newbie campaign to bolster why he is actually considered some of the game's brightest youthful stars. Hughes ended up final season with 6 targets as well as 47 points while also being just one of five Evil ones to play with all 82 games.What Hughes performed as a newbie triggered him completing 3rd in Calder Prize voting responsible for the possible victor, Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, as well as Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.Hughes and Faber were actually the only novice defensemen who played all 82 activities last time. They were likewise matched for second one of rookies in factors along with Bedard leading the league's first-year players with 61 points.Once Hughes is actually cleared to return, he is actually assumed to be an essential part of the Devils' plannings to come back to the playoffs. Hughes, who was actually the fourth selection of the 2021 NHL Draught, invested pair of years cultivating at the College of Michigan, which likewise made his bro Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks leader who is likewise the reigning Norris Trophy winner for the NHL's best defenseman.Hughes left Michigan after 2 seasons and signed his entry-level contract along with the Devils. It enabled him to join his brother as well as Evil ones alternating leader, Port, for the crew's playoff run throughout the 2023 Stanley Mug playoffs.The Devils succeeded 52 video games in the course of the 2022-23 time as well as progressed to the playoffs for the first time in 4 times. They opened up with a first-round victory over the rivalrous The big apple Rangers in 7 activities prior to shedding in the second around against the Carolina Hurricanes.Last period viewed the Devils problem to find congruity as well as miss the playoffs. It brought about all of them parting techniques along with crown coach Lindy Ruff and employing interim coach Travis Environment-friendly just before they after that worked with past Toronto Walnut Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe in old Might.