- ESPN’s AJ Mleczko joked about Jack Hughes’ freak injury from last season
- Hughes wasn’t laughing during the first intermission of the Devils’ opener
- Read below for the video of the awkward interview
Jack Hughes wasn’t in the mood for jokes on opening night.
ESPN’s AJ Mleczko grabbed the Devils star for a first-intermission interview Thursday, with New Jersey trailing the Flyers 1-0 in its home opener. After Hughes talked about having 40 minutes left to work with, Mleczko brought up the hand injury that cost him a chunk of last season.
“Well, it’s great to see you healthy. Let’s wrap you in bubble wrap and use plastic cutlery this year. That sound good?” Mleczko asked.
Hughes didn’t crack a smile.
“I mean, I think that’s a weird joke, big game, but…” he said before skating away.
Watch the interview:
Mleczko tossed it back to the booth with a laugh. “Well, no sense of humor here in a big game, but I appreciate his time,” she said.
The cutlery line was a callback to November 2025. Hughes cut his hand on broken glass at the Devils’ team dinner in Chicago, needed surgery on his finger and was handed an eight-week timeline. He came back in just over five weeks, but still missed 18 games.
That one stung. Hughes had 10 goals and 20 points through 17 games before the accident, and New Jersey lost 10 of the 18 games he sat out. It also came less than a year after a shoulder injury ended his 2024-25 season early.
Given that history, it isn’t hard to see why the bit didn’t land with him mid-game. Plenty of Devils fans online sided with Hughes, while others thought he could have played along.
On the ice, he opened the season centering Anthony Mantha and Jesper Bratt on the second line. Here’s how New Jersey lined up for the opener:
New Jersey did get to work after the break. Dougie Hamilton tied it 1-1 late in the second period, wiping out Rasmus Ristolainen’s first-period goal for Philadelphia.
