Devils’ Luke Hughes, Jesper Bratt undergo shoulder surgeries; expected to return for training camp
The New Jersey Devils got some good news on Monday morning, providing updates on the injury recovery timelines for defenseman Luke Hughes and left winger Jesper Bratt.
The club announced that Hughes had undergone successful shoulder surgery in Colorado and that Bratt will also undergo shoulder surgery and take on his recovery through the offseason. Both are expected to recover and be ready for training camp ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.
With an upcoming operation, Bratt also decided not to join Team Sweden for the IIHF World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark, from May 9-25.
Two key players in the Devils’ success in 2024-25, Bratt and Hughes, took on more responsibilities with the team when other key players, including Jack Hughes, went down with injury in the season’s final months.
While it is unknown when Bratt suffered his injury, he did not miss a game throughout the season, except for a healthy scratch in the Devils’ final regular-season matchup, before drawing back into the lineup for all five Stanley Cup Playoff games in their first-round loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Through 81 games, the 26-year-old posted a team-high 67 assists and added 21 goals to top New Jersey’s scoring charts with 88 points, before scoring a goal and three points in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Luke Hughes suffered his most recent shoulder injury in a collision with Carolina’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi in Game 1 and was sidelined for the remainder of the series. On a previous injury to the same shoulder, he opted to avoid surgery. However, he has taken the more significant operation this time, and will have the offseason months to recover.
Bratt will enter the third season of an eight-year $63 million contract in 2025-26, while Hughes needs a new deal as a pending restricted free agent after scoring 17 goals and 93 points through his first 155 NHL games.
The Devils finished the 2024-25 regular season third in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points, and will open the 2025-26 NHL season in the week of Oct. 7.