Once again, NHL fans will have to watch a hockey world without the talents of Jack Hughes.
Though his career so far in the show has been riddled by injury, this one was a “freak accident”, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, an incident that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner on Thursday. The Devils said Friday that Hughes had surgery on his finger in New York City and will be reevaluated in six weeks, while his expected recovery time is eight weeks. For Team USA fans keeping score, the Olympics begin in about 12 weeks.
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Clearly this is an unpredictable off-ice injury. But, because of Jack’s history with missing significant time in his career, you can’t help but feel several emotions about it right now, whether you are a Devils fan or not.
Certainly, you feel for the player — Hughes was off to a terrific start. Ten goals and 20 points in 17 games. Before the season, some pundits suggested this might be the season that the middle Hughes brother becomes the first Devil in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season (and maybe even 50 goals). His personal best remains 43 goals and 99 points in 78 games in 2022-23, his fourth season in the league.
Through seven seasons, the 24-year-old has been able to play north of 70 games in just that one season; shoulder and upper-body injuries flood his career injury report.
There is also, of course, the impact on the Devils for the next two months without their star player. They prevailed against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, with younger brother Luke Hughes notching a goal and assist.
Devils with, without Jack Hughes
WithWithoutOverall
record141-107-2031-37-20Points
percentage.563.455Goals
per game3.32.9Goals allowed
per game3.03.4Credit: ESPN Research
But consider the numbers in the last five season for the Devils with and without Jack Hughes in the lineup, as seen at right.
Devils fans have been sincerely making the case about Hughes’ elite prowess: at his best, is Hughes the most purely talented player in the NHL outside of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon?
Putting the obvious homerism aside, any hockey observer can clearly see the way he controls a game, his creativity on the ice and his elite shot.
This particular injury did not happen on the ice. Hughes can recover, stay healthy for a couple seasons, put up monster points and the narrative will certainly change. But are we inching closer to that unfortunate “he was amazing, but injuries plagued him” status that so many high-potential hockey players were slapped with, even if they did end up winning Stanley Cups and going into the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Players like Cam Neely, Peter Forsberg and Eric Lindros; all elite forwards with many accolades and a spot in the Hall of Fame, but limited by injuries that prevented them from reaching even higher. That’s great company, don’t get me wrong, and it’s hockey — injuries inevitably happen. I just hope that we get a long healthy stretch of being able to watch Jack Hughes excel at hockey after this latest mishap.
Jump ahead:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps
Biggest games of the week
Obviously since I just wrote that whole bit about Jack Hughes, I’m curious about the Devils this week and how they adapt to playing without him.
They head to Florida next, playing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday and the Florida Panthers on Thursday before meeting up with their Metropolitan Division Philadelphia Flyers in Philly on Saturday.
play
0:28
Simon Nemec slaps in Devils shootout winner
Simon Nemec scores the winning goal in the shootout to give the Devils 3-2 win over the Capitals.
Sunday, 7 p.m. ET | NHL Network
I’m looking forward to this matchup. With Connor Bedard and Nathan MacKinnon, the star power is there. But these two teams are both thriving this season.
Are the Hawks for real? A game against one the West’s juggernauts is a fun test for a team like Chicago.
Other key games this week
Monday, 7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+/Hulu
Thursday, 10 p.m. ET | ESPN+/Hulu
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Saturday, 10 p.m. ET | ESPN+
What I loved this weekend
Friday’s NHL slate made history: According to ESPN Research, it was the first day since the league began operation that when there were at least four games being played, every single one went to overtime or a shootout.
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Once Friday’s four games were decided, 282 NHL games had been played this season. Of that 282, 28% of them (80) went to the extra frame — that’s also the highest percentage at this point in the season in NHL history.
And on the history-making Friday night, the history-making rookie made even more of it. One of the biggest stories of the season has been 18-year-old New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer setting NHL records. This time, he scored his seventh goal of the season, winning the game for the Islanders against the Utah Mammoth, and becoming the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal (and giving the Isles a four-game win streak in the process).
On the poetic side, earlier that day the Global Series took place in Sweden between Erik Karlsson’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Filip Forsberg’s Nashville Predators. With 70 seconds left and the Preds down a goal, Forsberg scored to tie it up, getting an incredible reaction from the fans in Stockholm. Forsberg’s teammate Steven Stamkos scored the overtime winner, giving the Swedish fans another opportunity to cheer for their hero.
Hart Trophy candidates if the season ended today
Nathan MacKinnon cannot be denied. Now with 33 points and 14 goals, he leads the league in both categories outright. He stays on the Hart Finalist list.
Last week it was fun to put Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini in as finalists, because they were 1-2 on the points list at one point last weekend. But since that’s no longer the case, they are both on the outside looking in for this week. Instead, I’m going to tip my cap to another young standout, Leo Carlsson. He could have easily been a Hart Finalist last week too — the “three young superstars” angle would have been a good one in hindsight. So to rectify it — and to curry favor with all the Ducks fans that flooded my mentions because I left Carlsson out — he’s getting a Hart Trophy finalist nod this week. Uncle Leo is in!
play
0:45
Leo Carlsson tallies goal vs. Avalanche
Leo Carlsson tallies goal vs. Avalanche
I’m keeping an eye on Logan Thompson because he’s still sitting at a .925 save percentage despite the Capitals being four points out of the playoff spot. But, Connor McDavid has eight points this week and is now second behind MacKinnon. And if you were to guess, Mac and Mc would definitely be easy picks to be Hart Trophy finalists at the end of the season.
… but it’s not the end of the season. And there’s plenty of time to throw flowers at McDavid (like when he probably inevitably takes over the points race lead). We haven’t had a goalie in here for a while, so I want to shine a spotlight on a tendy. Why not, it’s my list after all! Spencer Knight definitely deserves it. He has a .924 save percentage, 7-3-3 record, and the Blackhawks are in a playoff position. This week, Spencer Knight is a Hart Trophy finalist!
For the record, I don’t subscribe to the “goalies have their own award” chatter. Connor Hellebuyck won just last year, and Igor Shesterkin should absolutely have a Hart Trophy in his cabinet before he retires.
Social media post of the week
Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins has a new mask design, and it’s Sonic the Hedgehog-themed. Nothing else needs to be said. You win the week, good sir.
Elvis Merzlikins’ new mask 🔥🔥 #cbj pic.twitter.com/PaOgEy8NOu
— Sarah (@sarah____kent) November 15, 2025
Stick taps
Stick taps to Sarah Thompson, who won a CHA championship at Syracuse, as well as under-18 World Championship gold with Canada. Last season, while playing for St. Lawrence, Thompson was awarded the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award, given annually to “College Hockey’s finest citizen”, recognizing a student athlete making significant contributions to both team and community as a volunteer.
Breaking News from Emily Kaplan
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Thompson founded Sticks Together, an organization that aims to give kids the opportunity to learn to play and love hockey in disadvantaged areas of the world. So far, Thompson has brought sticks, nets and pucks to Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa and Argentina. Thompson’s immediate goal is to return to Kenya to bridge the gap between ice and street hockey — to skate with the Ice Lionesses and teach street hockey in girls’ private schools around Nairobi.
“I hope that we can encourage more girls to play for the Lionesses and further develop the players in the program,” Thompson told ESPN.
As for the long-term vision for her program?
“To create a global network of girls’ and women’s hockey programs where access to the game means access to education and opportunity,” Thompson replied. “Hockey gave me the opportunity to go to university on a scholarship and build a career of my dreams, and I hope to create these opportunities for girls around the world.”
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