James Nichols
The New Jersey Devils have announced that defenseman Luke Hughes will be shut down for the remainder of the season to undergo a procedure begin his off-season rehabilitation early.
The 22-year-old blueliner appeared in 68 games this season, recording six goals and 35 points.
Hughes suffered a shoulder injury on January 19th on the road against the Calgary Flames. In the second period, he became tangled along the boards with Flames forward Justin Kirkland, dislocating his shoulder in the process. The injury forced him from the game, leading to a stint on long-term injured reserve shortly afterward.
A source confirmed the Hughes’ surgery is related to the shoulder injury.
At the time, ESPNs Emily Kaplan reported Hughes would not go under the knife to fix the shoulder injury.
“After consulting with doctors, Luke Hughes will not get surgery for now and instead rehab his upper body injury.
“The Devils placed Hughes on LTIR today; he’s expected to be sidelined through the Olympic break then [it’s to be determined].”
Hughes made his return on February 28th against the St. Louis Blues—missing just 10 games with the Olympic break in between.
The Devils were officially eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday after losing to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It makes perfect sense for Hughes to begin his rehab as soon as possible, with a source also confirming the expectaion is Hughes will be ready for training camp in September.
The Devils face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, where Simon Nemec appears set to assume No.1 power play duties.
Stepping in for Hughes is Dennis Cholowski on the blueline. No other recall is expected at this time.
There are four games remaining on the Devils’ schedule for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
