Jack Hughes was one of the last skaters to get on the ice for the team's morning skate on Sunday. It marked the first time he joined his team since suffering an injury in mid-November.
Hughes injured his hand in a "freak accident" that involved getting cut by glass at the team’s rookie dinner in Chicago on Nov. 13. The team then announced that he had successful surgery on his finger in the following days. The initial timeline was eight weeks, and he would be reevaluated in six weeks.
He joined Jesper Bratt, Paul Cotter, Angus Crookshank, Luke Glendening, Arseny Gritsyuk, Nico Hischier, Juho Lammikko, Nathan Légaré, Marc McLaughlin, Ondrej Palat, Dennis Cholowski, Brenden Dillon, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, Colton White, Jake Allen, and Jacob Markstrom.
“I was surprised as anybody,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Hughes return. “I even went on the ice and skated with him myself just to get a sense of where he was at. He feels very confident and comfortable, and I was satisfied with what I saw.”
"It was good news for what I got,” Hughes said. "It could’ve been season-ending. I’m glad I’m back now and feeling better.”
In 17 games this season, Hughes has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists). New Jersey went 8-10-0 without their star forward.
Hughes is not the only player returning to the Devils lineup. Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk will also return. The Swiss winger took a personal leave of absence from the team as he tends to a family health matter, while the Russian rookie was dealing with an upper-body injury.
With the trio of players ready to return, Keefe confirmed that Angus Crookshank and Juho Lammikko would come out of the lineup. Xavier Parent has already been assigned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL).
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