Luke Hughes has a clear goal for next season after NHL rankings released

Nobody is going to argue that Luke Hughes had a good season in 2025-26. He had a long contract negotiation process that forced him to miss most of training camp and all of the preseason; then he was clearly starting the season on the wrong foot. 

Throughout October, when the Devils were on an absolute tear, Hughes was not very good. He was on the ice for a higher xGA than xGF according to Natural Stat Trick. Because of a .956 on-ice save percentage, Hughes was being saved by his goalies. Once that safety net was gone, Hughes started to look terrible. 

The on-ice save percentage dropped from .956 in October to .867 in November. Hughes was once again on the ice for nine goals in November, but his opponents scored 17. And the eye test wasn’t much nicer, as Hughes just looked out of place and seemed like he was confused by his role. 

He did play in a new system under Brad Shaw, and he never had a training camp under Sheldon Keefe (he missed the year prior with a shoulder injury). 

Last year was supposed to be the year Luke Hughes took the step. Instead, he took a step back. Hughes is in a worse position in terms of perception than he was at this point last year. 

Yet, we saw something from him last year that shows that 2025-26 should be the outlier. 

Luke Hughes should become a top-20 defenseman this season

The NHL named its top-20 defensemen going into the 2026-27 season. To no surprise of anyone, there were no Devils players on the list. Between Dougie Hamilton's trade rumors derailing his season, Brett Pesce's injuries, and Hughes's struggles, there was no argument for any Devils player to be ahead of any of the 20 on the list.

In the future, Luke Hughes better be on that list. The former fourth-overall pick has all the talent to be a top defenseman in this league. A combination of bad luck, bad teams, injuries, and inconsistencies has led to Luke Hughes falling behind.

Then, after the Olympic break ended, Hughes was on another level. It helped that Jack Hughes returned from Italy after his Golden Goal like a man possessed, but the youngest Hughes brother was as good as he had ever been before. And it was a surprise that Luke Hughes returned at all. He suffered what looked like a serious shoulder injury that many thought could end his season. He did eventually miss the end of the season, but not before giving everyone hope for his future.

If Hughes returns with the momentum that came at the end of last season, along with a little bit of better shooting luck, will lead to a much better season from Luke Hughes.

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