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Highly rated prospect Luke Hughes, the No. 4 pick of the 2021 NHL draft, signed his entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

The decision to sign the 19-year-old defenseman was widely expected after Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said after the trade deadline that Hughes would join the team once his season ended at Michigan. Hughes, a sophomore, helped Michigan reach a second consecutive Frozen Four only to fall to Quinnipiac in the national semifinal on Thursday. Hughes finished the season with 10 goals and 48 points in 39 games.

Now that he has signed with the Devils, he will join his brother Jack Hughes as the two look to help the team make an impression in New Jersey’s first playoff appearance since the 2017-18 season. He becomes the third Hughes brother to reach the NHL with the oldest of the trio, Quinn Hughes, playing for the Vancouver Canucks. Jack, a two-time All-Star, was the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL draft. Quinn, who also played two seasons at Michigan, made the All-Star Game in 2020.

When will the youngest Hughes brother debut? Fitzgerald told ESPN that the Devils are playing for home-ice advantage, which could play a role in determining whether Hughes will play. The Devils entered Saturday second in the Metropolitan Division, just one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead with three games left in the regular season. Fitzgerald also said that the plan for Hughes is to be around the team, be involved with practices, learn the system and be ready in the event he could play.

Devils coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that Luke Hughes will not play Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, but he is practicing with the team.

Whenever Hughes does enter the lineup, he will be part of a team that has boasted one of the NHL’s strongest defensive structures. The Devils, in 5-on-5 sequences, were in the top five in scoring chances allowed per 60 and high-danger chances allowed per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick. They were also seventh in high-danger goals allowed. It’s a team that has mainly used the same six defensemen — Ryan Graves, Dougie Hamilton, John Marino, Damon Severson, Jonas Siegenthaler and Brendan Smith — for most of the season with Kevin Bahl operating as a seventh defenseman.

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.

Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe‘s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.

Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.

The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to impact the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson currently on injured reserve.

After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.

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Devils’ Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

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Devils' Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had successful surgery on his finger Saturday, the team announced. The expected recovery time is eight weeks, though he will be reevaluated in six weeks.

According to sources, Hughes injured his hand in a “freak accident” that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner Thursday.

Hughes’ procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

The 24-year-old was off to a terrific start for New Jersey, which is 12-4-1 and atop the Metropolitan Division entering Friday. The American-born star has 10 goals and 20 points in his first 17 games.

The injury will create an interesting predicament for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hughes’ brother, Quinn, has already been named to the team while the Devils star was expected to be a front-runner for the roster. Federations must submit rosters by Dec. 31. The Devils’ projected return-to-play timeline is around the second week of January. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament begins Feb. 11.

Olympic rosters feature 25 players, which is two more spots than teams had at Four Nations.

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

Center David Kampf signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs terminated his previous deal.

Kampf, whose deal with the Canucks will carry a $1.1 million cap hit, was entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Maple Leafs that was worth $2.4 million annually.

The Leafs waived Kampf before the season, and he began the year with their AHL affiliate. Kampf played four games in the AHL before taking a voluntary leave of absence, which wasn’t sanctioned by the Leafs, to evaluate his options.

Kampf, who scored 5 goals and 13 points in 59 games last season, gives the Canucks a two-way center who has logged more than 110 short-handed minutes in seven straight seasons.

The Canucks have faced defensive challenges under first-year coach Adam Foote, who already has had to navigate injuries to Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, among others.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks were allowing 3.53 goals per game, which is the fifth most in the NHL, while their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 66.1%. The Los Angeles Kings set the NHL record for the worst penalty kill in league history with a 68.2% success rate in the 1979-80 campaign.

Kampf also provides a veteran presence at center for the Canucks, who entered the season with questions at the position. Those concerns have intensified with Teddy Blueger and Chytil on injured reserve.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks (8-9-2) had the second-fewest points in the Pacific Division but were two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for Western Conference wild-card spots.

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