.Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterSep 12, 2024, 02:13 PM ETCloseRyan S. Clark is actually an NHL media reporter for ESPN.New Jacket Devils defenseman Luke Hughes will certainly need between 6 to 8 weeks to bounce back from a shoulder trauma he went through earlier this month, the staff pointed out Thursday.Hughes endured a left side shoulder trauma throughout offseason training. After being reviewed due to the Devils' health care staff, it was determined he would not demand surgical treatment which it can take much more than six full weeks for him to recover.That timeline implies Hughes would overlook the Devils' seven preseason games and also their season-opening activities on Oct. 4 and also Oct. 5 against the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia. The earliest he could possibly come back will be actually the full week of Oct. twenty, which suggests the Devils would possess actually played 8 regular-season games.Losing Hughes for even a short time frame happens after he utilized his novice project to reinforce why he's considered some of the game's brightest younger stars. Hughes finished last time along with 6 targets and also 47 aspects while additionally being just one of 5 Evil ones to play in all 82 games.What Hughes performed as a novice resulted in him finishing 3rd in Calder Prize ballot behind the eventual victor, Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, as well as Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.Hughes and Faber were the only newbie defensemen that participated in all 82 activities last time. They were actually also tied for second one of newbies in points along with Bedard leading the league's first-year gamers with 61 points.Once Hughes is actually gotten rid of to return, he's expected to become a vital portion of the Devils' programs to come back to the playoffs. Hughes, who was actually the fourth pick of the 2021 NHL Draught, spent two years creating at the University of Michigan, which additionally made his brother Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks leader who is actually additionally the ruling Norris Prize champion for the NHL's absolute best defenseman.Hughes left behind Michigan after pair of seasons and signed his entry-level deal along with the Devils. It enabled him to join his sibling as well as Adversaries alternating captain, Port, for the crew's playoff operate in the course of the 2023 Stanley Mug playoffs.The Devils succeeded 52 video games during the course of the 2022-23 time and also progressed to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. They opened along with a first-round victory over the rivalrous New york city Rangers in 7 video games just before losing in the second around versus the Carolina Hurricanes.Last season saw the Devils battle to locate consistency and also miss the playoffs. It caused them parting ways with head train Lindy Ruff and also tapping the services of acting train Travis Environment-friendly prior to they at that point tapped the services of former Toronto Maple Leafs instructor Sheldon Keefe in late Might.