Despite winning two games in a row, the seemingly significant injury to star defenseman Luke Hughes felt like one of the last nails to take the air out of the balloon that has been the 2025-26 season for the New Jersey Devils.
The good news, at least according to the latest report, is that Hughes's injury may not be nearly as significant as we all originally feared.
ESPN insider Emily Kaplan, as quoted by our own Vinnie Parise during the broadcast of Thursday night's game between the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, reports that “It doesn’t sound like it will be long after the Olympic break until we see Luke Hughes again.”
“It doesn’t sound like it will be long after the Olympic break until we see Luke Hughes again”@emilymkaplan on ESPN’s broadcast of DET vs MIN.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) January 23, 2026
For the New Jersey Devils, that should spell one of those typical 4-6 week injury timelines we often see in sports, as the NHL's break for the Winter Olympics starts on Feb. 5 and ends on Feb. 26.
By extension, that also means the Devils need to survive just two more weeks of action without Hughes until they get that break, when they will get three free weeks of injury rehab from their young defenseman.
New Jersey has just seven games remaining before the break starts, including a Friday night game against the hapless Vancouver Canucks and two crucial matchups with Metropolitan Division rivals like the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders.
They will also play three games in four nights coming out of the break, facing Buffalo and Pittsburgh on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, respectively, before visiting the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis on Feb. 28.
Hughes, 22, was placed on long-term injured reserve on Wednesday, which eliminates him from the lineup for at least 10 games and 24 days, but allows him to return as early as the aforementioned game against the Blues at the end of next month.
With Hughes on LTIR, the Devils have $3.157 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia. However, if he's going to return right after the Olympic break, which would be a little more than a week before the NHL Trade Deadline, it is unlikely they use it without moving other money out the door.