New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt will undergo offseason shoulder surgery and will miss the IIHF World Championship, the team announced. Star defenseman Luke Hughes also recently had surgery on the shoulder injury he sustained in Game 1 of the Devils’ first-round loss to the Hurricanes.
With the offseason arriving sooner than New Jersey hoped, what is in store for both Jesper and Hughes amid their injuries?
Devils Receive Injury Updates on Jesper Bratt, Luke Hughes
Both Bratt and Hughes are expected to be ready for the start of training camp this fall, according to the team. Bratt has pulled out of Sweden’s World Championship roster to focus on recovery.
It’s unknown whether Bratt suffered his injury on a specific play or if he’s got wear-and-tear issues he wanted to correct. After all, he didn’t miss a game all season aside from sitting out New Jersey’s final regular-season contest for rest.
If Bratt was playing hurt for a while, it certainly didn’t show. The 26-year-old led the Devils with a career-high 67 assists and 88 points in the regular season before adding a goal and two assists in five games in New Jersey’s first-round loss.
Entering the third season of his eight-year, $63 million contract, Bratt has topped the 70-point mark in four consecutive seasons and has been remarkably durable. That final regular-season game was the first one Bratt missed since the 2021-22 season. Assuming he hits the ground running as expected in 2025-26, he’s got a chance at becoming the first Devil with three straight 80-point seasons in franchise history.
Hughes’ injury was far more apparent. He re-injured his left shoulder in a collision with Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi and didn’t play the final four games of the series.
He suffered an injury to the same shoulder last offseason but opted not to have surgery to accelerate his recovery timeline and diminish the amount of time he missed at the beginning of 2024-25. Now, with a full summer ahead of him, he is going for more serious intervention.
Bratt, Hughes’ Outlook for the 2025-26 Season
The 2021 No. 4 overall pick, Hughes, is a pending restricted free agent and due for a new contract. Through his first 155 NHL games, he has 93 points and a -34 rating. He has led Devils defensemen in scoring two seasons in a row and could command well north of $8 million per year if the team pursues a long-term deal.
Despite finishing the season on the ice, Bratt likely battled through a lingering issue. His scoring remained consistent, and he was New Jersey’s most productive offensive player. Hughes, on the other hand, aggravated a known issue and took a more aggressive approach this time by opting for surgery.
Bratt still has six seasons left on his deal. Hughes, entering restricted free agency, has made a strong case for a long-term extension, having emerged as the team’s top blue-line scorer since debuting in 2023.