The Devils may need to reevaluate their team dinner safety protocols.
Star forward Jack Hughes is expected to miss at least one game after what the team described as a “non-hockey hand injury” on Friday after having slipped and cut his hand during a team dinner the night before, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The report describes the incident as a “fluke accident.”
Jack Hughes skates with the puck during the third period of the Devils’ Nov. 10 game. NHLI via Getty Images
Hughes will miss at least Saturday’s game against Washington, per Friedman.
It could be a massive blow to the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils, who sit at 12-4-1.
Hughes, 24, centers New Jersey’s top line and has posted 10 goals and 10 assists in 17 games to lead the team in scoring.
The top pick in the 2019 NHL Draft has missed at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons, and missing extended time this season could have major repercussions that go beyond the NHL.
Hughes is a major piece of the U.S. roster for the 2026 Olympics in Italy, in what will be the NHL’s return to the Games for the first time since 2014.