It's getting to that point of the season where we once again have to say, "Another day, another injury." After Cody Glass was injured on Tuesday and Luke Hughes suffered a serious shoulder injury last week, Jack Hughes went down to the tunnel in the first period of the Devils' overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
If Jack Hughes misses games, it will be the second time this season that an injury knocks him out of the lineup. He suffered a serious hand injury in November at a team dinner in Chicago. That caused him to miss 17 games, and it really set the Devils on a bad path. His injury was the straw that broke the camel's back, as the team suffered injuries across the board prior to that.
Thursday's injury is still a mystery. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game that he didn't think it was serious, but a new report at Friday's practice might have us thinking differently.
Keefe update on Jack: “The only update is that he’s still getting evaluated. In the next little bit, he’s going to get some imaging and get a better idea of what’s happening. Until we have those results we won’t know his status in terms of travel and the situation going forward.” https://t.co/RalvkdZHzY
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) January 30, 2026
One would think that if this were as minor as it originally sounded, there would be more clarity, at least positive clarity, by the next day. Instead, it sounds like there are more questions than answers for Hughes's injury.
We still don't know where Hughes was injured, but his going for imaging is bad news, no doubt. That's not always the end all be all, but it can be the first step to bad news. If this were something where Hughes wasn't going to miss any time, it's probably just a day off from practice and moving on from there.
It's safe to say that the Devils will need a plan to keep the train on the tracks without Hughes, at least until the Olympic break. With both Hughes and Glass out, the Devils are down two starting centers. Nico Hischier is going to be the superstar he needs to be, or the Devils already floundering playoff hopes are going to sink further.