Devils’ Jack Hughes injured after cutting hand at team dinner
It appears that Jack Hughes has no good luck when it comes to injuries.
The often-hurt New Jersey Devils center sustained yet another injury, but this time it wasn’t one that occurred on the ice, as it was announced he’s being evaluated for a hand injury.
#NEWS: Jack Hughes is out with a non-hockey, hand injury. He is being evaluated and we will provide an update as available. pic.twitter.com/4bfOT3tDtH
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 14, 2025The Devils reported the injury as a non-hockey one to his hand, mentioning that he will be evaluated with an update to come. Just a few minutes prior, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman announced it was sustained during a team dinner, with some labelling it as a fluke accident while others said he slipped and cut his hand.
According to Friedman, Hughes is expected to miss Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals, but his timeline for return beyond that is unknown. The hope is that it won’t be a serious injury.
It’s another example of horrible injury luck that has mired Hughes’ career. He’s never played 80 games in an NHL season, the closest being his 2022-23 campaign that saw him play 78, and the only time he’s played a full season was the pandemic-shortened year where he only had to play 56. He’s also had his season ended early in three of the last four seasons due to a sprained left MCL (2021-22) and two shoulder surgeries (2023-24 and 2024-25), and has missed a total of 77 games since the 2021-22 season.
It’s an unfortunate development for Hughes’ season because he’d had such a strong start to the year. In 17 games, he had 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points. He is tied for 15th in the league in goal scoring, and 22nd in overall scoring.
The Devils also announced that they’ve placed winger Connor Brown on injured reserve, and recalled Shane Lachance from the Utica Comets. Brown has missed the last six games with an undisclosed injury. Lachance is expected to meet the team in Washington.
#NEWS: We’ve placed F Connor Brown on injured reserve, retro to 10/30/25, and recalled F Shane Lachance from Utica (AHL). He will meet the team in Washington, D.C.https://t.co/N8IlkZ1tCL
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 14, 2025These injuries are two of several that the Devils have to deal with at this point in time. In addition to Brown and Hughes, they are missing Evgenii Dadonov, Cody Glass and Zach MacEwen up front, as well as Dougie Hamilton, Johnathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce on defense.
The Devils will look to persevere through these injuries when they visit the Capitals on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST. New Jersey currently sits in first in the Metropolitan Division with a 12-4-1 record.