Any hopes that the Devils held for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run this spring have seemingly been dashed. The face of the franchise is done for the season.
New Jersey announced that star center Jack Hughes will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign due to a right shoulder injury suffered in last Sunday's loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hughes underwent surgery on Wednesday and was placed on long-term injured reserved.
Per the team, he is expected to make a full recovery and be available for training camp.
Hughes went down late in the third period on March 2, after colliding with defender Jack Eichel inside the Golden Knights' zone. His skates seemed to get tangled near the crease, which resulted in him falling to the ice and crashing into the boards. No penalty was issued on the play.
For a brief moment, it appeared as if Hughes was knocked out behind the goal, but it didn't take long for him to turn over and favor his arm/shoulder area. He stayed down for a while before skating off the ice, hunched over, under his own power.
The loss of Hughes is simply devastating for the Devils, which currently rank third in the Metropolitan division standings with 72 points, and entered the season with top-five odds to capture their first championship since 2003.
While the Devils are still positioned to reach the playoffs, they won't be able to fill the void left by Hughes. The former first overall pick exited Sunday's game as the team leader in goals (27) and points (70), plus he's logged 11 points in just a dozen career playoff games.
This also isn't Hughes' first shoulder nightmare. He missed 20 games last season due to right shoulder and upper-body ailments, and ultimately underwent surgery to repair the shoulder back in April.
In six seasons with the Devils, the 23-year-old has posted 141 goals and 210 assists (368 games). He also carried the franchise to the East's second round two seasons ago with a career-high 99 points.