Devils News
Devils to Deploy Hughes & Pesce as Pair, Reflect on Relationship
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe will deploy Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce as a pair. The defensemen reflect on their newly formed relationship.
The New Jersey Devils are receiving some necessary upgrades on the blue line. Heading into Motor City to face the Detroit Red Wings, previously injured Devils defensemen Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce will make their season debuts.
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The Devils started the 2024-25 regular season without a fourth of their anticipated blue line. Hughes, the sophomore defenseman, suffered an unexpected shoulder injury during offseason training and missed the first 20 days of the season.
Pesce had surgery on his fibula, which he broke in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs versus the New York Islanders.
Post surgery, the former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman explained he should be ready to go for training camp in the fall, or definitely by the beginning of the regular season. However, he wound up missing nine games.
The defensemen have been skating together since the beginning of training camp. When they returned to practice, Keefe kept Hughes and Pesce together as a pair. The duo will be deployed as one unit Thursday night vs. the Red Wings.
“Obviously, it’s nice to have [Pesce] with me, a little partner bonding,” Hughes explained. “I mean, I’m excited to be back, and I think he’s really excited to be back too.”
On facing Pesce previously, Hughes explained what makes him most excited to work next to the veteran defenseman.
“He’s really hard to play against, he’s got a really good stick. He can skate and makes a really good first pass out of the zone,” Hughes said. “Just watching him in Carolina, he was really hard to play against, he’s definitely going to help our team out a lot.”
On the other side of the blue line, Pesce reflects on the relationship he’s formed with the youngest Hughes, and is looking forward to opening up some ice for the talented defenseman.
“I’ve gotten really close to [Luke], so I learned a lot about him over the past month or so,” Pesce said. “Just excited to play with him, just seeing what he does in the rehab skates. He’s so talented. So I’m just gonna try to make his life easier.”
The Devils’ defense hasn’t exactly been what Keefe and general manager Tom Fitzgerald had envisioned when they re-tooled the blue line this past summer.
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However, with the returns of the top-four defenseman, the Devils’ head coach is excited to see what his first fully healthy lineup looks like, and to get to know Hughes and Pesce more as players.
“It’s a good thing, obviously. I mean, they’re two very good defenseman,” Sheldon Keefe explained. “Obviously, Pesce is well established, and we’ve been excited to have him a part of our group, but in a more official capacity here now in uniform, which is great. And obviously Luke’s an exciting young player. Had a tremendous season last year as a first year guy, and I’m excited to get to know him better within the uniform, too.”
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