Luke Hughes

21-Year-Old DefensemanD
Out
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 10/24/2024
2024 Fantasy Outlook
The youngest of the three Hughes brothers took part in his first full NHL campaign in 2023-24 and made his mark, scoring nine goals and 47 points across 82 contests en route to a Calder Trophy nomination. However, Hughes' defense needs work, and while plus/minus is an imperfect stat, his minus-25 rating last year -- the third worst among New Jersey players -- reflects those struggles. The Devils tolerated those defensive issues last campaign, but if they persist, it might diminish Hughes' ice time. His value was also heavily tied to the power play, which accounted for 25 of his points, but a healthy Dougie Hamilton could limit Hughes' role with the man advantage. Additionally, Hughes will now miss the first month of the season due to a shoulder injury suffered before training camp opened. Those issues aren't enough to alter the fact that he has the potential to be an elite contributor on offense, but it does make him a higher-risk selection going into drafts for the 2024-25 campaign. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Devils in April of 2023.
Suffers shoulder injury
DNew Jersey Devils
Shoulder
September 12, 2024
Hughes is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after suffering a left shoulder injury but will not require surgery, the club announced Thursday.
ANALYSIS
Even on the short end of his injury timeline, Hughes figures to miss the opening 10 games of the season at a minimum, making him a strong candidate to start the campaign on long-term injured reserve. The 21-year-old blueliner avoided injury as a rookie last year, featuring in all 82 regular-season contests in which he tallied nine goals and 38 helpers, including 25 power-play points. With Hughes out of action for the start of the season, Dougie Hamilton will almost certainly move up to the No. 1 power-play unit while Jakub Zboril, who comes into camp on a PTO, could earn his way into a full-time deal.
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2023
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2023–24 Time On Ice Stats
  • Average Time On Ice:
    21:28
  • Average Power Play TOI:
    3:27
  • Average Short-Handed TOI:
    0:05
 
Ice Time
Power Play
Short-Handed
2022–23
16:14
0:06
0:00
2023–24
21:28
3:27
0:05
Devils Depth Chart
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Devils Power Play Depth Chart
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Luke Hughes See More
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Yesterday
RotoWire's Jan Levine is back this season with his Risers and Fallers, including why you might want to buy low on Trevor Zegras.
2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Potential Underachievers
Yesterday
RotoWire's Ryan Dadoun is here to help you avoid reaching for some player on draft day that could cost you that end-of-year title -- including why he believes Brady Tkachuk is going too soon.
2024-25 NHL Top-100 Prospects: Part 1 (51-200)
6 days ago
RotoWire's Jon Litterine is back with his in-depth Top-100 NHL Prospect Rankings. This week, we look at No. 51-100 -- including Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf.
Fantasy Hockey Defensemen Tiers
9 days ago
RotoWire's Ryan Dadoun breaks down the NHL's top defensemen into seven tiers, including one reserved just for Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar.
2024-25 NHL Defenseman Tiers
21 days ago
RotoWire's Corey Abbott delivers a tiered ranking of defenseman ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, including why he thinks Evan Bouchard should be Tier 1.
2023 Fantasy Outlook
There's a case to be made Hughes was the top prospect in the NHL a season ago. He averaged well over a point-per-game in his sophomore season at the University of Michigan (10 goals, 48 points in 39 games) before turning pro. He got into two games late in the year before being a healthy scratch for the club's first nine postseason games. Hughes got back in the lineup for the club's final three playoff games, but New Jersey was already living on borrowed time. Luke is quite a bit bigger than either of his star brothers, but he possesses the family trademark speed and elusiveness. It's fair to wonder how much the Devils want to put on his plate in his first full NHL season considering he will be playing the entire year at age 20, but Hughes is already one of the best defenders on the Jersey roster.
More Fantasy News
Strong stretch run in rookie year
DNew Jersey Devils
April 17, 2024
Hughes finished his rookie season with nine goals and 47 points while dressing for all 82 games in 2023-24.
ANALYSIS
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Contributes assist Sunday
DNew Jersey Devils
April 7, 2024
Hughes notched an assist and added a shot on net in Sunday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Predators.
ANALYSIS
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Posts helper in loss
DNew Jersey Devils
March 29, 2024
Hughes notched an assist, four shots on goal and a minus-2 rating in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Sabres.
ANALYSIS
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Five assists over last two games
DNew Jersey Devils
March 21, 2024
Hughes delivered three power-play assists Thursday in a 4-1 victory over the Jets.
ANALYSIS
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Two-point effort in win
DNew Jersey Devils
March 20, 2024
Hughes notched two assists, one on the power play, in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Penguins.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Announced as Calder finalist
DNew Jersey Devils
April 30, 2024
Hughes was named as a Calder Trophy finalist Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Hughes put together a fantastic rookie season, registering nine goals and 38 assists, including 25 power-play points, in 82 games this year. If it weren't for Connor Bedard, who finished with 61 points, Hughes certainly would have had a realistic shot of being named the Rookie of the Year. Fantasy players can probably expect Hughes to build upon those rookie numbers next year, possibly pushing for the 60-point mark.
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