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What a first month of hockey it’s been for the New Jersey Devils, who are now 9-5 for the season. The month of October has been quite the experience. The Devils are one of the best puck possessing teams in the entire league, and despite it took them a tad for the finishing to come along, they’re firing on all cylinders.
As for the individual performances thus far, Luke Evangelista has been every cent worth coming over from the Nashville Predators. General manager Sunny Mehta also secured the top goalie on the market in Connor Hellebuyck and the star players in Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt continue to produce. However, one player that has really stole the show in a big way is Luke Hughes.
A lot of expectations come with the big price tag. Hughes is in the second year of his big contract and his $9 million annual average value (AAV) sees him as the highest paid defenseman on the Devils. He’s had back-to-back 40 point seasons his first two years in the league and last season saw him fail to reach that mark for the first time in his young career. For Hughes, his ceiling is massive and you know what type of player he can be. We just haven’t seen it yet. Until now.
Among Devils skaters, Hughes is fifth in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) with 59.68 and although he is 15th in expected goals for percentage (xGF%), when he’s on the ice the team has generated the fifth-most xGF with 12.65. When it comes to prime scoring chances, he has been on the ice the fourth-most, as well as high-danger attempts. Hughes has had an extremely active stick, which has led to some highlight reel goals for him this season.
One thing that has made Hughes a weapon to this point in his career is his skating. He makes it look effortless and once he gets that extra burst in speed, he’s off to the races. Hughes can dance around the zone and glide around defenders with ease. His goal against the New York Rangers on the power play displays that exact type of effort.
It was a complete thing of beauty, but nothing was more beautiful than his goal against the Dallas Stars, who are one of the best defensive teams in hockey to start the season.
It was a goal in similar fashion. The way he uses that jolt of speed and protects the puck on his backhand, to then put himself in prime position for the shot is great to see. The shot he fired off was a laser and to this point the best goal scored by a Devil this season.
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Hughes already has five goals this season. His current career best is nine (2023-24) and last season he had six total. This season he is on pace for 30 goals and 42 points. Whats crazy enough is how long it took for him to reach the five-goal mark.
- 2023-2024: 33 games
- 2024-2025: 48 games
- 2025-2026: 44 games
- 2026-2027: 14 games
Hughes is going to have further opportunities to produce more. He is on the team’s top pair and a pair that has been strong to start the season. Not to mention, he is quarterbacking the power play and despite the results not being there, the team has been able to generate chances. The results will come, be patient.
Watching Hughes play has been special because it does feel in the grand scheme of the Hughes brother trio, he is the forgotten one. Now, he’s breaking out in a big way and has been impactful to what the Devils are doing.
Let’s see what November brings.