After two full seasons in the NHL, New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes appears well on his way towards taking that next step to becoming one of the world's elite. That, of course, is exactly what the Devils bargained for when they signed the 22-year-old to a seven-year, $63 million ($9 million AAV) extension just 11 days ago on October 1st.
It's just two games, sure, but the youngest Hughes quietly leads the Devils in scoring with his four assists and four points. To add to that, the former No. 4 overall pick trails only Brett Pesce, his defense partner, in time on ice per game through these two games. Hughes's 26 shifts per game so far tie him with Dougie Hamilton for the team lead.
Now, things can change in a hurry, especially this early in the season, but Hughes, as things stand, is tied with Adam Fox and Morgan Rielly for the most points in the NHL by a defenseman. Cale Makar narrowly trails with three points, while his oldest brother and 2024 Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes recorded his first point of the season on Saturday night.
Luke Hughes did his thing on Saturday night, too, and that's why we're here. The Devils' big-money defender kicked off his night with an outlet pass to Arseny Gritsyuk that led to a Connor Brown goal, then added another assist with his long-range shot getting deflected, putting the puck in Nico Hischier's path to take a 3-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period.
Even with that play, many of the NHL's most experienced coaches and players will say the best of the best make their own luck, and, sometimes, you have to earn your bounces. Hughes's back-to-back two-assist games indicate that his hard work, contract dispute aside, is now manifesting on the ice.
Hughes had back-to-back 40-point seasons under his belt coming into this year, anyway, but this season is the one we could see the Devils' franchise defenseman finally erupt and exceed 60 points or more.