Jack Hughes missing time last season cost the Devils in more ways than one, and one of the biggest losses came on special teams.
After cutting his hand during a team dinner in November, Hughes was out for more than a month. When he returned wearing a cast under his hockey gloves, he wasn’t nearly as effective.
New Jersey felt the ripple effects everywhere: the standings slipped, the early lead built in October vanished, and the Devils lost the kind of impact only their star could provide. The injury may have even affected the Quinn Hughes opportunity, along with Tom Fitzgerald’s reluctance to go all in.
It also changed Sheldon Keefe’s use of Hughes on the penalty kill. Once the injury hit, Keefe stopped using him there, not wanting to take extra risks with the team in that state. That decision made sense at the time, but it also stripped away one of New Jersey’s best special-teams weapons.
The case for putting Hughes back on the PK next season is pretty straightforward. He still gives the Devils offense, and even with the cast situation dragging him down, he remained an underrated defensive player overall. Before the injury, though, he was making a real impact shorthanded.
Last season, Hughes ranked fourth in the league in chance percentage on the penalty kill. In 25 minutes, he was on the ice for 12 chances for and 28 against. The high-danger numbers tracked similarly, and he consistently put himself in position to handle the most dangerous situations.
That kind of work showed up in the goals too. In those same 25 PK minutes, Hughes was on the ice for two goals for and two against.
Over a full season, that pace would amount to something like nine goals, which is a massive swing for a team. Add nine shorthanded goals and the effect on the Devils’ season would have been impossible to ignore.
It would have changed their goal differential from -24 to -15. That still isn’t pretty, but for one player to create that kind of lift on the penalty kill is a big deal.
The encouraging part for New Jersey is that this isn’t some new idea. Hughes posted similar penalty-kill numbers in Keefe’s first season behind the bench.
He fits the role because he attacks it the right way. His job is to get the puck out and kill the threat, and that aggressive mindset separates him from too many Devils players who wait for the danger to come to them before trying to clear.
Hughes also worked on the kill with Jesper Bratt, who is responsible defensively and fast enough to keep pace with him.
Heading into training camp, this looks like an easy call for Keefe. The Devils have options on the penalty kill, but Hughes might be their best one.
In Other News...
Devils Got Burned By The NHLs Most Infuriating Review Rule
Goaltender interference has been one of the NHLs most frustrating review subjects for years, and the Devils found themselves at the center of that familiar mess in early 2026. A go-ahead goal by Jonas Siegenthaler was wiped out after the Winnipeg Jets challenged the play, turning what looked like a pivotal swing into another reminder of how much gray area still exists whenever the league sends a scoring play to the monitor.
The sequence involving Paul Cotter and Connor Hellebuyck is exactly the sort of clip that exposes the rules headaches. The NHL says a goal should come off the board if an offensive player impairs the goalies ability to defend, but it also carves out exceptions, including cases where the attacker is shoved by a defender, and those competing ideas can leave even a close call feeling inconsistent. For the Devils, it was a burned chance and a maddening example of why this rule keeps begging for a clearer rewrite. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Already Know The Risk In Any Future Quinn Hughes Deal
The Devils do not need much reminding that a defenseman contract can look smart one year and punishing the next. As they keep an eye on Cale Makars negotiations, they are also staring at the broader lesson that comes with any future Quinn Hughes deal: when you commit big money and big term to a blue-liner, you are betting not just on talent, but on health, durability and how long the player can stay near his peak.
New Jersey has lived through the downside before with P.K. Subban, whose time with the club was derailed by injuries and a decline in performance. That history is part of why any talk of a Hughes extension carries more weight than the usual star-player speculation, because the upside is obvious while the financial risk can linger for years if the deal goes sideways. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans May Not Like Whats Missing From This Theme Night Slate
The Devils have started rolling out their 2026-27 theme-night calendar, and there is plenty on it for fans to circle. The slate includes eight giveaway nights, with items ranging from a light-up bam bam to a Luke Hughes bobblehead, and some of the fan experiences are being tied to group-ticket purchases through special links. It is the kind of early-season promotional planning that helps set the tone for the year before the puck even drops.
What stands out just as much, though, is what is not on the list yet. Compared with last season, New Jersey has sharply trimmed back the number of cultural celebration nights, with only six confirmed non-giveaway cultural nights announced so far and a few dates still to come. For fans who have grown used to seeing those events woven into the home schedule, the rest of the rollout will matter, because this version of the slate already looks noticeably different. [Read more 🡒]