The New Jersey Devils have lost four of their last five games and have been struggling to find momentum this season. Star player Jack Hughes has missed the last two games, both losses, but was still making news off the ice. After the latest loss, Hughes shared comments about fans losing hope.
Now, Hughes is making more news while still not seeing the ice for the Devils, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Hughes will miss the final game for the Devils before the Olympic break as they host the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Despite his absence from the Devils, he is expected to play for Team USA in the Olympics.
“Jack is just not improved enough to the point that our medical team will let him out there. He’s not going to be available (Thursday). They say he’s in the day-to-day category, and we don’t have a lot of days left here,” head coach Sheldon Keefe told the media on Wednesday.
The American forward has played just one full season in his NHL career, which was the 56-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. He did play in the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025. During that tournament, he played in all four games, but had just one assist as the United States took second in the event.
Hughes, a three-time NHL All-Star, is also having a slight down season. He has his worst shooting percentage since the 2020-21 campaign. Further, he has found the back of the net 12 times while adding 24 assists, good for 36 points in 36 games. His point-per-game pace currently is also his worst since 2020-21.
Meanwhile, the United States team is trying to bring home gold at the Olympics, and hoping Hughes can contribute to that. They open their tournament play on Feb. 12 against Latvia.
At the same time, the Devils are 28-26-2 on the campaign, placing them in seventh in the Metropolitan Division, and nine points out of a playoff spot. Hughes will miss the game Thursday night, but should be back when the Devils return to play Feb. 25 against the Buffalo Sabres.
