Jack Hughes Injury Concern: Devils Went 8-13-0 Without Him

Jack Hughes’ health is the biggest question hanging over the New Jersey Devils this season, and the record without him spells out why.

New Jersey went 8-13-0 in the 21 games Hughes sat out last season, a number Mike G. Morreale put at the top of NHL.com’s 32 in 32 look at the Devils. Hughes still finished with 77 points in 61 games.

An 18-game absence with a hand injury wiped out most of his winter. A lower-body issue took three more games right before the Olympics.

Stack that on the 25 games he lost in 2024-25 after shoulder surgery and the pattern is hard to miss. Hughes has cleared 62 games once in seven NHL seasons.

That one year is the case for patience. He put up 99 points in 78 games in 2022-23 and dragged the Devils to the second round.

Healthy, he is also the guy who ended a 46-year wait for USA Hockey. Hughes buried the overtime winner on a Zach Werenski feed to beat Canada 2-1 for Olympic gold in February, chipped tooth and all. Watch what he does when he is on the ice:

Morreale set the bar at roughly 70 games rather than a full 82, with Hughes healthy walking into the playoffs. Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes and new arrival Anthony Mantha give him plenty to work with.

Question No. 2 sits in the crease. Shipping Jacob Markstrom to Florida left the net to 36-year-old Jake Allen, with Nico Daws finally getting a real runway and David Rittich as insurance.

General manager Sunny Mehta has been open about viewing Daws as an important prospect who never got a consistent development path. An Allen-Daws tandem works if Daws proves he can carry a chunk of the load.

The Devils ran back most of last year’s group after a 42-37-3 finish that landed 12 points shy of a wild card spot. Catch every goal they scored along the way:

Mehta spent the summer adding size and finishing to a lineup that needed both. None of it matters much if his No. 1 center is watching from the press box again.