May all be moot anyways. Luke Hughes went down with a dislocated shoulder last night:
As has evidently become custom over the last few seasons, the New Jersey Devils lose, even when they win the game. On Monday night, defenseman Luke Hughes suffe
pucksandpitchforks.com
This blurb seems relevant to Leaf fans:
Luke Hughes' injury makes Dougie Hamilton too important to trade
The reality is that the Devils are more dangerous and less predictable with the big right-hander on the point on the power play, even if Hamilton is not quite as dangerous a shooter as he was before his pectoral injury.
The 32-year-old has played 20 fewer minutes than Hughes on the power play this season, but has still produced better results; the Devils have scored 11 power play goals with Hamilton and 12 with Hughes despite the considerable gulf in ice time, which equates to roughly 10 full power plays.
Hughes simply is not a threat as a shooter, especially compared to Hamilton. And we can cut Hamilton some major slack, given all the trade rumors and
attempted trades that came to light recently and went on behind the scenes, affecting his mental state and performance on the ice.
For the betterment of both parties, each side has to stick that in the past... for now, and commit to doing what is best for the New Jersey Devils in the crucial second half of this season.
