Jack Hughes will be out for the season for the New Jersey Devils after having shoulder surgery.
The 23-year-old center was tripped into the end boards during a breakout while short-handed at 18:12 of the third period in a 2-0 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. He skated off the ice gingerly while favoring his right shoulder.
Hughes, who had surgery Wednesday, is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp.
“It’s obviously a big loss for our team but we had some talks already about it,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said prior to a 4-3 loss at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. “I think right now, we just got to dig in. I think we all know that Jack would’ve loved to be here with us playing in Dallas.”
Hughes leads the Devils in goals (27), game-winning goals (seven), shots on goal (229) and forwards in average ice time per game (20:54). His 70 points are tied with Jesper Bratt for first and he’s second in assists (43) behind Bratt’s 53.
He had one assist in four games playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month.
Hughes had surgery on his shoulder in April 2024 and missed the final four games of the regular season. He was healthy by training camp and has not missed a game this season.
“Jack’s a very important player, so the whole group was feeling for him the other night, myself and the coaching staff included,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday, before the extent of the injury was known. “Injuries are part of the game but just the nature of it and all of that makes it tougher and also knowing what he’s been through in the past. “
The No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Hughes has 351 points (141 goals, 210 assists) in 368 regular-season games for the Devils and 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Devils (33-24-6) have 19 games remaining in the regular season. They are third in the Metropolitan Division, four points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have played two fewer games.
Dawson Mercer replaced Hughes on the second line between Ondrej Palat and Tomas Tatar to begin the game in Dallas.
“At first, you see a guy going down that puts everything into it every night, plays so hard for the team. It’s tough to see Jack go down,” forward Timo Meier said Tuesday. “Obviously hope he’ll be back soon.”
The Devils return from a five-game road trip to play the Winnipeg Jets at Prudential Center on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, TSN3). They’re 7-7-0 since Jan. 22 and 9-11-3 since the start of the calendar year while scoring 2.43 goals per game (30th in the NHL). New Jersey is also without defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body) since Feb. 4 and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (undisclosed) did not take a shift Tuesday after getting tied up with Stars forward Mason Marchment behind the Dallas net at 18:13 of the first period.
New Jersey hasn’t won consecutive games since Jan. 22-25. It has missed the playoffs 10 times in the past 12 seasons, last qualifying in 2022-23, when it reached the second round for the first time since 2012 after finishing with the most wins (52) and points (112) in its history.