Everything was going according to plan for the Devils. The team was 12-4-1, sitting atop the Eastern Conference. Sure, a few players on the team were hurt — namely Brett Pesce — but most have avoided super long-term injuries. Most importantly, Jack Hughes looked excellent and was fully healthy coming off a shoulder injury that ended his 2024-25 season.
Then the Devils went to a team dinner Thursday in Chicago. At the meal, Hughes hurt his finger in what a team source called a freak accident. The injury required surgery, and the team announced Saturday that he will miss approximately eight weeks. He will be re-evaluated at the six-week mark.
The injury is a major blow for both the Devils and Hughes, who once again finds himself missing games due to injury — and this time to one sustained far from a hockey rink. Through 17 games, Hughes had 20 points and a team-best 3.6 Net Rating, according to colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model. With Hughes playing, the Devils looked like a legitimate Eastern Conference contender. Without him, as they saw at the end of last season, life gets much more difficult.
Captain Nico Hischier will move into Hughes’ top-line center position, and Dawson Mercer will probably take over as 2C. Mercer has had a strong start to the season, but has primarily played wing. Hischier and Mercer as the top-six centers is serviceable in a pinch, but it eats into the team’s wing depth with Mercer sliding to the middle. The team’s bottom-six center situation also took a hit in Wednesday’s game against Chicago: Cody Glass slid hard into the end boards and flew back to New Jersey separately from the team. He’s out week-to-week.
That leaves the Devils, who still have their 12-4-1 record, set to play Washington on Saturday, with Hischier, Mercer, Luke Glendening and Juho Lammikko as their four centers. When healthy, New Jersey is strong up the middle. That is no longer the case. Glendening and Lammikko have a combined three points in 23 games. Now both will have bigger roles than is ideal for the Devils.
Team president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald bolstered the team’s depth this offseason, but several of his additions are battling injuries. Of the Devils hurt players, forward Connor Brown (upper body) and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (lower body) appear closest to returning. Brown is a versatile, responsible winger and will help fortify the forward group while Hughes is out. Evgenii Dadanov, signed as a potential top-six option, is getting gradually closer to returning. He’s been out since the season opener. If he’s on his original timeline, Pesce will be out until at least the end of the month. Johnathan Kovacevic remains out long term.
Devils captain Nico Hischier will move into Jack Hughes’ top-line center position during his absence. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
President and general manager Tom Fitzgerald will have to make difficult decisions navigating Hughes’ absence. New Jersey has given itself some cushion with its strong start, but since it’s early, other Eastern teams have plenty of time to catch up. Philadelphia, the fifth-place team in the Metro, is only four points back. Fitzgerald will have to decide whether or not to see how his team holds up without Hughes, or he will have to add to the roster earlier than he was perhaps planning to otherwise.
If he chooses the former, it’s a bet on not only Hischier and Mercer but also the team’s wings. With Mercer playing center, Ondřej Palát likely has to move back into the top six, and he’s better suited for the third line. Rookie Arseny Gritsyuk will have to continue giving the Devils’ top-six minutes. He’s primarily played on the third line but has gotten looks on the top two lines, including Wednesday in Chicago.
Fitzgerald could also look to the trade market as a stopgap. That would not be a surprise given the Devils’ current center situation.
Unfortunately for the Devils, centers are always difficult to come by, and a lot of teams are looking for them right now. On paper, Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly would be an excellent fit: someone who can play in the top-six and then become one of the best third-line centers in the league when Hughes returns. If the Predators continue to struggle, perhaps general manager Barry Trotz will be open to moving on from the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, who is signed through 2026-27 at $4.5 million average annual value. Calgary’s Nazem Kadri could be another option. He has a $7 million AAV and is signed through 2028-29.
If available, both those players will come with a bevy of suitors. New Jersey would not only have to find a way to beat other teams’ offers but would also need to create cap space. That could be difficult unless the team is willing to move Palát or Hamilton, both of whom have 10 team trade lists.
Should Fitzgerald deem a big-name acquisition unfeasible, he could look to improve on the wing, especially with Mercer moving to the middle. The Devils might also be able to find a bottom-six center. San Jose’s Alex Wennberg is in the last year of his deal and could play in the middle six and potentially shift to wing when the team is at full strength, and Chicago’s Jason Dickinson could also be a candidate. New Jersey would likely need help with salary retention on either of those players.
Fourth line options on teams potentially willing to sell could include Michael McCarron (Nashville), Tyson Jost (Nashville), Blake Lizotte (Pittsburgh) and Noel Acciari (Pittsburgh), though he’s currently injured. David Kämpf, whose contract was terminated by Toronto this week, could be another depth option to watch. He’s an unrestricted free agent.
No matter what the Devils do, there’s no full replacement for Hughes the next eight or so weeks. Whether Fitzgerald tries to find a stopgap or not, their best-case scenario is keeping as much of their playoff cushion intact as possible, then getting going again when (or if) they are fully healthy.