The Devils will welcome back a key part of their back end today against St. Louis. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Luke Hughes off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, blueliner Colton White has been sent back to AHL Utica.
After two very promising seasons to start his career, 2025-26 hasn’t gone quite as well for Hughes this season. The 22-year-old had a long contract standoff, resulting in a deal only getting done a few days before the start of the season, resulting in him missing the majority of training camp.
Meanwhile, his production hasn’t taken a meaningful step forward despite a jump in ice time to more than 23 minutes per game. Hughes had 47 points in 82 games in his rookie season and 44 in 71 outings in 2024-25 but has been limited to five goals and 21 assists so far this season in 49 appearances. He missed nearly six weeks with a shoulder injury but only wound up missing 10 games overall thanks to the Olympic break.
Notably, when New Jersey had a fully healthy back end earlier this season, trade speculation around Dougie Hamilton picked up. Those talks faded when Hughes went down but once again, the Devils now have their top seven blueliners healthy and available which could ultimately kickstart those trade talks before Friday’s deadline. For now, it’s unclear who will be the scratch as team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) there are players dealing with an illness and a decision on who’s out will be made closer to warmups.
As for White, he was recalled when practices resumed during the Olympic break but had served as a healthy scratch since then, keeping his games played total with the Devils this season at 23, where he has four assists in a little over 12 minutes per night of ice time. The 28-year-old has also suited up 10 times with Utica and is still looking for his first AHL point of the season.