On top of his injury affecting the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, superstar forward Jack Hughes may bring about some changes for Team USA at the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, too.
Hughes, 24, represented his nation at the 4 Nations Face-Off last winter and posted one assist in four games, but he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury shortly thereafter.
With a so-so performance at the international tournament and some lingering injury concerns, the Devils' franchise player started this season with 10 goals, 10 assists, and 20 points in 17 games, only to suffer another bizarre injury, this time at a team dinner, cutting his finger so badly that he put himself out of commission for at least two months.
Team USA's Olympic roster is expected to be announced in early January, so it would take a herculean recovery from Hughes to insert himself back into the conversation, especially after missing so much time.
Players like Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson missed out on the 4 Nations tournament entirely last season. We can imagine that those two will be amongst the first names considered to replace the injured Hughes.
Jack Hughes's latest injury puts Olympic participation in question
In addition to them, former USNTDP teammate Trevor Zegras has been lighting it up for the Philadelphia Flyers this season, and he plays a very similar brand of hockey to Hughes if the USA shot-callers are to look for someone who is closer to a 1:1 replacement at the position.
Players like Matthew Knies, Cutter Gauthier, Zegras, Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley, Troy Terry, and Cole Caufield are all having strong enough seasons to warrant some looks, and with Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong on staff for the Americans, it would not be crazy at all to see a line of Keller, Cooley, and Schmaltz lining up as a unit wearing the Red, White, and Blue, for example.
Nearly everything is now working against Hughes with the Olympics fast approaching, and it would take nothing short of a miracle to see him take the ice in Milan in February.