The New Jersey Devils are hoping for a better 2026-27 season after a disastrous final season of Tom Fitzgerald’s career. The list of things that went wrong is too long for this article. Not too far from the top of the list is the dreadful season from Luke Hughes.
Now, it definitely wasn’t as bad in reality as it looked on paper. The night of 1,000 boos was the fever pitch of frustration with Hughes, but he was still more good than bad, even at his worst. It just wasn’t near what we expected from the youngest Hughes brother, especially after signing a new contract worth $9 million per season.
Hughes is still one of the fastest players in the NHL. His top speed is 23.37 miles per hour according to NHL Edge stats. However, his two fastest speed bursts came in March, which is after the shoulder injury that took him out of Olympic consideration. The Devils needed the speed demon for most of the season when they were having serious trouble getting out of the defensive zone.
Under Sheldon Keefe and Brad Shaw, the Devils were desperately bad at clearing the defensive zone. It felt like it caused an extra 100 goals against. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but the point still stands. The Devils have to be better at getting out of the defensive zone.
The biggest reason for Hughes’s criticism is that $9 million contract. People want all of the Hughes brothers on the Devils. At least, most people do. However, when the highest-paid Hughes brother isn’t carrying his weight, then he is going to face criticism.
What if we told you that Luke Hughes actually played up to his contract? According to a new analysis, Luke Hughes was actually a $10 million player last season.
Despite a tougher season, Luke Hughes’ market value still sits above his current AAV.
— Cap Logic (@CapLogicMedia) July 24, 2026
A strong comparable who signed at age 22 is Thomas Chabot. If Hughes takes another step offensively, this contract could age extremely well. pic.twitter.com/khz7lUS14I
Now, there is something to the eye test vs. the analytics, and this was an analysis that was based purely on analytics. Hughes made some serious mistakes last season, but those mistakes were few and far between in March.
Only 20 defensemen in the entire league was on the ice for more chances in March last season than Luke Hughes. Hughes needs to do better at keeping extreme chances out of the net, but he’s really good at keeping volume away from his goalies. His speed and stick check are both elite, and that helps him keep his goalies clean.
With an aggregate approach to the goalies in 2026-27, Hughes has to be at his best. Everything we’ve seen so far points to that being the case.
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