.Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterSep 12, 2024, 02:13 PM ETCloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL media reporter for ESPN.New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes are going to need to have between 6 to eight full weeks to bounce back from a shoulder injury he suffered earlier this month, the staff claimed Thursday.Hughes endured a nigh side shoulder accident during offseason training. After being actually analyzed due to the Devils' clinical team, it was determined he will not call for surgical treatment and also it could take more than six weeks for him to recover.That timetable suggests Hughes would miss the Devils' seven preseason video games and their season-opening games on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 versus the Buffalo Grass Sabres in Prague, Czechia. The earliest he might return would certainly be actually the full week of Oct. 20, which implies the Devils would possess already played 8 regular-season games.Losing Hughes for also a short time period follows he used his rookie initiative to improve why he is actually looked at some of the video game's brightest younger stars. Hughes completed final season with six targets and also 47 points while likewise being among five Adversaries to play with all 82 games.What Hughes completed as a novice triggered him finishing 3rd in Calder Prize ballot behind the ultimate victor, Chicago Blackhawks facility Connor Bedard, and also Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.Hughes as well as Faber were actually the only novice defensemen that played all 82 games final time. They were also tied for 2nd among novices in points along with Bedard leading the league's first-year gamers with 61 points.Once Hughes is actually removed to return, he's assumed to be an essential component of the Devils' strategies to come back to the playoffs. Hughes, who was actually the 4th pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, invested pair of years building at the University of Michigan, which additionally made his sibling Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks captain who is actually additionally the reigning Norris Trophy winner for the NHL's ideal defenseman.Hughes left behind Michigan after pair of seasons as well as authorized his entry-level agreement along with the Devils. It enabled him to join his sibling and Adversaries alternating leader, Jack, for the staff's playoff run throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.The Devils gained 52 activities during the 2022-23 time and accelerated to the playoffs for the first time in four times. They opened along with a first-round success over the rival New York Rangers in seven video games just before losing in the 2nd round against the Carolina Hurricanes.Last time saw the Devils problem to find uniformity and miss the playoffs. It resulted in all of them parting ways along with head trainer Lindy Ruff and tapping the services of interim instructor Travis Eco-friendly before they at that point employed former Toronto Walnut Leafs trainer Sheldon Keefe in old Might.