Luke Hughes is going dominate the NHL now that his contract situation is settled

Many are looking at Luke Hughes's contract as an overpayment, but he's going to prove everyone wrong with a monster offensive performance for the New Jersey Devils. We expect him to break 60 points as long as he stays healthy.
Toronto Maple Leafs v New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs v New Jersey Devils | Elsa/GettyImages

It finally happened. The New Jersey Devils signed Luke Hughes to a seven-year extension after months of deep negotiations. For weeks, we heard about the gap in negotiations, but on October 1st, both sides finally found common ground and signed the deal.

This is great news for the Devils. Hughes coming to training camp (which he will join on Thursday) with a week left before the start of the regular season, allows him time to ramp up his program. We need to see him stay after practice and try to build up his endurance. We often see Jesper Bratt and Luke’s brother, Jack Hughes, stay after practice to get extra work in. Hopefully, Luke Hughes joins them.

If he does, we think he’s going to be in for a huge season. Luke Hughes was dominating towards the end of last season. He had 22 points in the final 22 games, taking over as the Devils’ number one defenseman in Dougie Hamilton’s absence. 

Based on how the Devils have been putting together their lineup, and where Ethan Edwards and Seamus Casey have been lining up, Hughes will start the season paired with Brett Pesce. There’s a good chance they act as the top defensive line, playing more than 20 minutes per night.

With the impact Hughes will have playing those minutes, we expect his offensive numbers to explode. 

What is the ceiling for Hughes on the scoresheet? Most believe that Hughes didn’t play that well last season, but he still had 44 points in 71 games. That’s a 50-point pace over an 82-game season. If he plays like he did at the end of the year, 60 points is very much in the realm of possibility. 

That would put him in the top 10 of defensemen in terms of points. Is that worth $9 million? Not necessarily, but we also think Hughes will play well defensively. He was put in some bad situations last season, but he got really good at stopping 2-on-1s.

Hughes also got better at his worst quality, although it wasn’t always clear by the eye test. According to Money Puck, Hughes had 48 defensive zone giveaways. That’s 94th in the league. In 2023-24, Hughes was 20th-worst in the league in defensive zone giveaways.

If the Devils use Luke Hughes to skate the puck out of the zone more often in Sheldon Keefe’s system, the giveaways will drastically drop. Also, his zone entries will go up exponentially. 

It took some time for Hughes to get used to the Keefe system, but we see him dominating under his tutelage in 2025-26. Everything fell into place at the right time. He might take some time to get his offense up after a long contract negotiation, but he’ll make up for it in the second half of the season.

Hughes will put his name in the hat for top-10 defenseman in the league this season. Just give it time.

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