.Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterSep 12, 2024, 02:13 PM ETCloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL media reporter for ESPN.New Shirt Devils defenseman Luke Hughes will certainly need between six to 8 weeks to bounce back from a shoulder injury he endured earlier this month, the staff said Thursday.Hughes went through a left side shoulder accident throughout offseason training. After being actually analyzed by the Devils' health care workers, it was actually determined he will certainly not need surgery and also it can take much more than six weeks for him to recover.That timeline implies Hughes would miss the Devils' seven preseason activities and also their season-opening activities on Oct. 4 and also Oct. 5 versus the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia. The earliest he can come back would be actually the week of Oct. twenty, which suggests the Devils would have already played eight regular-season games.Losing Hughes for even a short time frame follows he used his novice campaign to improve why he's considered some of the video game's brightest younger stars. Hughes finished final period along with six targets as well as 47 factors while also being just one of five Adversaries to play in every 82 games.What Hughes completed as a novice led to him completing 3rd in Calder Prize ballot behind the eventual winner, Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.Hughes and also Faber were the only newbie defensemen that played all 82 activities final period. They were actually likewise matched for second among novices in points with Bedard leading the organization's first-year players along with 61 points.Once Hughes is actually removed to come back, he's assumed to become an important aspect of the Devils' programs to go back to the playoffs. Hughes, who was actually the fourth pick of the 2021 NHL Draught, spent two years creating at the College of Michigan, which additionally made his sibling Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks leader that is actually likewise the reigning Norris Prize victor for the NHL's finest defenseman.Hughes left Michigan after 2 times as well as signed his entry-level agreement with the Devils. It permitted him to join his bro and also Adversaries alternative leader, Port, for the crew's playoff operate during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.The Devils gained 52 activities in the course of the 2022-23 period and also advanced to the playoffs for the first time in four periods. They opened with a first-round triumph over the rivalrous New york city Rangers in seven activities before shedding in the second sphere versus the Carolina Hurricanes.Last time found the Devils struggle to discover uniformity and also overlook the playoffs. It caused all of them parting means along with head coach Lindy Ruff and choosing interim instructor Travis Environment-friendly before they at that point worked with previous Toronto Maple Leafs instructor Sheldon Keefe in old Might.