MSG Network announced New Jersey Devils star forward JackHughes is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
This season just keeps going from bad to worse. After a disastrous weekend where the Devils got embarrassed by the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, the New Jersey Devils had their biggest loss when they played the New York Islanders. Jack Hughes was hit by Oliver Wahlstrom, and they ended up hitting knees. Hughes tried to skate on it, but he couldn’t make it work.
The Devils made everyone wait until Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers to announce the severity of Hughes’ injury. We learned in the first intermission that Hughes will be held out for the rest of the season with a mild MCL sprain.
The good news is a mild sprain can be fixed with rest and ice alone. There’s no need for surgery or even rehab at this point. He can get better and make it to the offseason. In all likelihood, he will be fully healthy in a few weeks, but the Devils are playing it safe by ending his season.
Hughes will finish the year with 56 points in 49 games. We don’t like that he’s finishing with just 49 games total after two injuries took significant time away from him. That’s something they’ll need to address in the future, but for now, it’s the right decision to play it safe and shut him down.
This will officially be the fewest games Hughes plays in a season. In three years, he’s never passed 61 games played. Last season was shortened by the pandemic, and Hughes played in every game. That’s the good news. Hughes also played 93 games in the season before his draft year when considering all the international play and all the games with the USNDTP.
Want your voice heard? Join the Pucks And Pitchforks team!
It’s a mild sprain. We just have to keep telling ourselves this is good news despite the Devils shutting him down for the season. We saw Hughes turn into a superstar this season, but it’s becoming harder to find reasons to watch the last dozen or so games in the season.