The New Jersey Devils look desperate right now. The rumor mill is on fire with talk of Tom Fitzgerald working the phones. He’s apparently feeling the pressure to make a move. Things became desperate when Jack Hughes got injured during a team dinner last month.
The original timeline for Hughes’s injury was eight weeks. The Devils are about halfway through the timeline, as he got hurt around November 13th. He hurt his pinky, which is unfortunate because we won’t know how well he can play until the cast comes off and he can hold a stick, but it is good because his entire lower body is unimpeded.
On Monday, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Hughes is, in fact, skating. It’s a big update, as we know that’s the first step to getting back on the ice. The Devils have a few other injured players who are skating, like Johnny Kovacevic and Brett Pesce, but like Hughes, nobody is that close to returning to the lineup.
Status quo on Jack Hughes and his progress, nothing to report beyond that.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) December 8, 2025
Jack has been skating for a week or so, #NJDevils HC Sheldon Keefe said. But it’s a finger injury so the skating part is par for the course. He’s not out there with his stick or any pucks. Just skating.
Jack Hughes is skating, but he's no closer to returning from his hand injury
Last month, reports surfaced that Hughes had a small chance of being ready by Christmas. That’s just 17 days away from now. That seems very quick on the timeline, but it does line up with his six-week evaluation period.
With this condensed schedule, every week could mean three or four more games without Jack Hughes. The Olympics are causing each team to face more injuries. Too many games every week will have everyone limping to the finish line.
The Devils have had as many injuries as anyone. As of this writing, the Devils have lost 99 games from their forward group alone. Jack Hughes accounts for 11 of those games. If you add defensemen and goalies, the Devils are up to 155 man-games lost.
Hearing these players are skating is at least a step in the right direction. It’s not getting us to the ice, but it’s the first step in the process. At least, there’s that.