It has been an unfortunate season for the Devils as they’ve been struggling with losses here and there, and short losing streaks in between huge victories. However, that is not the only letdown… Jack Hughes is out once again with an upper-body injury. This had been announced by head coach Travis Green on Tuesday when he had been sharing updates about players and the upcoming matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jack Hughes has been out a couple of other times this season, and the times he’s been out due to suffering an injury weren’t very short periods of time, either.
He was out for about 2 weeks or so in November after he sustained a shoulder injury on the 3rd when New Jersey played against the St. Louis Blues, losing 4-1. Hughes cut through a pair of defensemen, took a shot on goal, and then crashed into the end boards… He did make a brief return to the ice, but he eventually left the game for good after that. He missed 5 games during those two weeks and was announced to be making his return on November 17th to hopefully play against the New York Rangers the next day.
The second span Jack Hughes had been out for began in the same game where Connor Bedard suffered a broken jaw. At the time, it’d been hard to actually tell where he was injured, but you could tell he was in some kind of discomfort when he took an awkward fall. However, it ended up being another upper-body injury, and he was out for over a month, missing a total of 11 games, and couldn’t participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game… Jesper Bratt had been Hughes’ replacement for the All-Star game in Toronto.
Hughes returned to the lineup on February 8th to take on the Calgary Flames, which they took a 5-3 loss at home after a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Avalanche.
When Hughes has been playing for New Jersey this season, he is one of the best players for the Devils and ranks first on the team in goals, then second in points. He’s had an amazing season when he isn’t injured, with a total of 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists).
On April 9th, it was announced that Jack Hughes is out again and will be out for the remainder of the season, as well as proceeding with shoulder surgery on April 10th. He didn’t make an appearance at the morning skate and will be out of the lineup to take on the Maple Leafs.
Travis Green had been asked if Jack would be out long-term with the upper-body injury and responded, “We’ll see.” The Devils only have four games left in the regular season, that includes their upcoming matchup. Aside from the announcement, there are no other updates as of now on Hughes.
