Jack Hughes can roll his eyes at the chatter all he wants. It is not going away.
The New Jersey Devils forward left the game the other night, and that was enough to push his health right back into the spotlight. For a player who has already dealt with injuries throughout his career, every exit now carries the same immediate questions: how serious is it, and how long will he be out?
The attention only got louder because of a viral in-game interview. Hughes was asked if he was going to be wrapped in bubble wrap and use plastic cutlery to stay healthy.
His answer came fast: "I mean, I think that's a weird joke midgame," and he skated away looking anything but amused. The clip spread quickly across social media and fed the conversation that has followed him for a while.
That’s the part Hughes can’t really escape. He has missed time before, and that history has built a reputation that is going to stick unless he starts stacking up long stretches of availability. Fair or not, people are going to keep asking whether he is injury-prone and whether he can ever stay on the ice for good.
For the Devils, that makes the issue bigger than just one player’s frustration. Hughes is a major piece of what New Jersey wants to be, and when he plays, he changes their offense. When he doesn’t, a lot of skill disappears from the lineup.
There is still a path to changing the conversation. If Hughes can stay healthy and put together a long run without missing time, the noise will start to fade. But until that happens, the questions are going to keep coming back every time he leaves a game.
That is the bind here. Hughes can push back against the label, but he can’t control how people talk about him. For now, his health is going to remain one of the biggest storylines around him, whether he likes it or not.
In Other News...
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ESPN Just Gave Devils Fans Another Reason To Defend Nico Hischier
ESPNs latest top-100 NHL players list for the 2026-27 season gave Devils fans plenty to chew on, and not in a flattering way. Nico Hischier landed 54th, a sharp slide from where he was ranked previously, even as the Devils captain continues to be viewed as one of the leagues most reliable two-way centers and a cornerstone for New Jerseys present and future.
The real frustration is less about the number itself than the company Hischier was kept in. Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entire prior season, came in ahead of him, and Connor Bedard was slotted higher too despite the expectation of an early-season injury absence. For Devils fans, it is another reminder that Hischiers value does not always seem to translate cleanly in outside rankings, even when his importance to New Jersey is obvious. [Read more 🡒]