On December 15th, a fan shared a video showing Hughes on the ice with a stick for the first time since his injury.
The forward has been absent since November 15th, when the New Jersey Devils announced he had undergone successful hand surgery.
Hughes sustained the injury in a ‘freak accident’ during a team dinner in Chicago. Since being drafted first overall in 2019, the 24-year-old has yet to play a full season.
Nonetheless, when healthy, he proves to be a massive asset to the team but continues to struggle with completing all 82 games. Before getting injured, Hughes had 20 points in 17 games.
The team has struggled without him this season.
Amid these concerns, head coach Sheldon Keefe offered an update on Hughes following practice on Tuesday.
“What I’m told, which isn’t much because he’s far away enough that I’m not getting daily updates, he’s on schedule to get re-evaluated after Christmas,” Keefe said to NJD.tv. “We’ll take it from there. It’s encouraging that everything has gone to plan and he’s able to do that, but he’s not close to joining the group yet."
Hughes is not the team's only injured player; in fact, the Devils currently face a long list of injuries.
As of Wednesday’s matchup, the Devils had eight players listed as injured.
The injured players are: Nemec (lower-body), Gritsyuk (upper-body), J. Hughes (finger), Pesce (upper-body), Dadonov (upper-body), Kovacevic (knee), McLaughlin (undisclosed), and MacEwen (upper-body).
Amid all these setbacks, the video showing Hughes back on the ice is a positive sign for the team as they approach the one-third mark of their season.
The team needs Hughes back on the ice soon unless they find a way to win without him.
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