Saturday: The Devils provided an update on Hughes, announcing that he has undergone surgery. He will be reevaluated in six weeks and the expected recovery timeline is eight weeks. With New Jersey having just $12.5K in available cap space per PuckPedia, Hughes is almost certainly heading for LTIR which would open up $3.82MM in available spending room.
Friday: In an odd report, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the New Jersey Devils will be without center Jack Hughes for at least one game after accidentally cutting his hand at a team dinner. The Devils confirmed the report and added that Hughes is still being evaluated.
Once again, Hughes was off to a sensational start to the season, only to have it paused due to injury. He began the 2025-26 campaign with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games, leading New Jersey in scoring while tying for 22nd in the league with Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby, Kyle Connor, Troy Terry, Nick Suzuki, Jason Robertson, and Leon Draisaitl.
Hopefully, for the Devils’ sake, Hughes will only miss a few games at most. Last season, around the trade deadline, New Jersey went 9-10-1 to finish the season and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils were 33-23-6 before Hughes was injured.
His injury history is becoming a little much to overlook. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, Hughes has played in 268 regular-season contests for the Devils, which is only 77.7% of potential contests. Still, he’s been one of, if not the team’s best player over that stretch, scoring 133 goals and 319 points while averaging 20:25 of ice time per game.
Luckily, the team has an in-house replacement for Hughes on the first line in captain Nico Hischier. In the same stretch that Hughes has suffered multiple injuries, Hischier has remained remarkably consistent, scoring 117 goals and 288 points in 314 games, with a +41 rating and a 54.5% faceoff rate, while averaging 19:41 of ice time per game.
Depending on how long Hughes is out for, it could jumpstart New Jersey’s aggressiveness in acquiring some forward depth. The team already had a hole down the middle behind Hughes and Hischer, and the injury news could prompt some movement from the Devils.
Slipped while trying not to make eye contact with The Hamburgler at a McDonald’s Playland in Suburban Virginia.
See, see!! Sheldon Keefe DOES look like the Hamburgler. I’ve been saying it for years. Thank you.
Always use a dull knife at dinner time. ;)
Jeepers the dude sliced his finger at the dinner table, no need to pull an emergency trade lol. Calm down, Brennan.
So I’ll be in the corner eating crow…
this didn’t age well
“Devils’ superstar Jack Hughes injured during dinner with Frank the Tank” is one helluva headline.
The guy is basically glass.
Maybe Luke can start cutting Jack’s steak for him
No finger foods and plastic utensils going forward!
Every. Single. Season. This guys misses at least half the season every damn year. The Devils are never going anywhere with this guy as their franchise player.
Quinn is on the way….don’t worry
Good, he will be well rested for the Olympics and USA gold.
He forgot to tell the knife…”People pay to see me play”
“The team already had a hole down the middle”
And apparently, so does he, in his hand!
Was this some type of medieval team dinner event with Jack cleaving the roasted pig? :0
somebody tell him, hes supposed to be carving up the competition, not his hand! Smh.