{"id":464436,"date":"2026-02-20T11:39:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/464436\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:39:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:39:56","slug":"devils-defensemans-pending-return-interim-canada-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/464436\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils Defenseman’s Pending Return; Interim Canada Captain"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Jersey Devils<\/a> star forward Jack Hughes<\/a> and Team USA face Jack\u2019s teammate Simon Nemec<\/a> and Team Slovakia in the semifinal later today. Winner play\u2019s for golf. Loser play\u2019s for bronze. Either way, each Devil has the chance to medal by the end of the weekend.<\/p>\n

In the links, Luke Hughes is on the ice. So, when can he return to the Devils lineup?<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, USA Women\u2019s golden Thursday, Team Canada\u2019s next captain, and some NHL trade chatter.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s do that hockey.<\/p>\n

Devils Trade Rumors & News<\/p>\n

New Jersey Hockey Now: While the Devils Olympians continue their quest for gold, the rest of the team is back on the ice in New Jersey. The injured Luke Hughes<\/a> is as well. When is he eligible to return to the lineup?<\/p>\n

In Milan, it was a full day off for the Men\u2019s division of Olympic hockey. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on the slate in the semifinal matchups today:<\/p>\n

\"\"Via IIHF.com<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Devils Rink Report: Okay, so just about every Devils player that went to Milan played their personal best game they have all season. So, what gives? Because it seems like they can\u2019t get it together back in New Jersey. Is it individual performances? Roster contruction? The head coach? Well, Sheldon Keefe\u2019s former assistant, Jack Han, joins me today on the Devils Rink Report<\/a> to discuss.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re live at 1 P.M. between semifinal games. Like & subscribe \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffc<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Please be sure to like and subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube channel<\/a>\u00a0and turn on those notifications for when we go LIVE every Friday! At 1K subscribers, we\u2019ll begin publishing on your favorite podcast platforms!<\/p>\n

ALSO! Devils Rink Report is on TikTok now!\u00a0Follow us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PLUS! Subscribe to the\u00a0New Jersey Hockey Now Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for all of our work straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n

The Athletic ($): Here\u2019s how Devils defenseman Simon Nemec is living out his<\/a> childhood dream with Juraj Slafkovsky and Dalibor Dvorsky on Team Slovakia.<\/p>\n

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now<\/p>\n

The Athletic ($): USA! USA! USA! The Woman\u2019s U.S. Olympic hockey squad scored the golden goal yesterday, claiming gold<\/a> and winning the women\u2019s pool over Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

Forever Blueshirts: Brandon Schneider is amid plenty of trade rumors as we inch closer to the NHL trade deadline. However, he\u2019s tuning out the noise and is focused on the New York Rangers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The latest on Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> and Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby\u2019s injury isn\u2019t a final diagnosis, but it\u2019s at least encouraging.<\/p>\n

Sportsnet: Speaking of Crosby, if he\u2019s not cleared to play in the semifinals vs. Finland, the IIHF rules state someone has to wear the \u2018C.\u2019 It\u2019s clear who it should be<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boston Hockey Now: The St. Louis Blues are certainly selling. Well, the Boston Bruins<\/a> are linked to defenseman, Justin Faulk. Is he the right fit for the B\u2019s?<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJames is a fully credentialed New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the … More about James Nichols<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes and Team USA face Jack\u2019s teammate Simon Nemec and Team Slovakia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5109],"tags":[3189,201,3723,5,1769,34571,576,151,5185,5184,4,106],"class_list":["post-464436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-jersey-devils","tag-2026-winter-olympics","tag-devils","tag-devils-news","tag-hockey","tag-luke-hughes","tag-mens-ice-hockey","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-newjersey","tag-newjerseydevils","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116102773388854258","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}