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Devils’ Jack Hughes Done For The Season After Shoulder Surgery

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The New Jersey Devils took a massive blow to their Stanley Cup aspirations. New Jersey announced that center Jack Hughes has successfully undergone shoulder surgery and will be placed on the team’s long-term injured reserve. The team noted he’s expected to fully recover and be ready for next year’s training camp, informally confirming he’s done for the 2024-25 season.

The news is nothing short of a disaster for the Devils. After missing the playoffs last season, the team has rebounded into postseason positioning this year, thanks to a healthier group.

Hughes is the leader of that resurgence, too. The former first overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft was tied for the team lead in scoring with 27 goals and 43 assists in 62 games. Interestingly enough, Hughes will finish the 2024-25 campaign with nearly identical production from last season, scoring 27 goals and 47 assists in 62 appearances.

It also extends Hughes’ recurring injury issues from the last several years. Since the NHL returned to a full 82-game schedule after the 2020-21 campaign, Hughes will have only played in 76% of New Jersey’s regular season contests. The team is objectively better when he’s in the lineup, making the situation all the more unbearable for their playoff hopes.

The loss of Hughes will inevitably shift New Jersey’s trade deadline strategy. The Devils had already been rumored to be scouting the market for an upgrade at their third-line center position. They’ll now need two middle-six centers, assuming captain Nico Hischier steps into the first-line role.

If anything, this should make New Jersey more committed to buying. Although they don’t have their first-round pick for the 2025 NHL Draft, the Devils still have a trio of second-round picks and a few tradeable prospects. Defenseman Simon Nemec comes to mind as an obvious headliner for any trade of magnitude. Since the team is placing Hughes on LTIR, that will open up $8MM in cap space for the team to work with.

Still, it’s difficult to think highly of New Jersey’s chances even if they go big-game hunting. It’s improbable the team will have the capacity to acquire a player of Hughes’ caliber in the next two days.

According to James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, the Devils have reportedly contacted the Carolina Hurricanes regarding Mikko Rantanen’s availability for this circumstance. The Hurricanes are unlikely to move one of their best players to a divisional-rival and likely postseason adversary. Still, Rantanen is exactly the kind of player New Jersey should be pursuing to get reasonably close to filling the void left by Hughes.

New Jersey Devils Have Expressed Interest In Mikko Rantanen

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Per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in Carolina Hurricanes’ winger, Mikko Rantanen. Nichols added that their interest wholly depends on Jack Hughes’ status, but it’s an interesting development nonetheless.

Despite rumored interest from the Devils, it doesn’t appear as a likely hypothetical landing spot. Carolina and New Jersey would play in the first round of the postseason if the season ended today, and neither is expected to catch up to the red-hot Washington Capitals. Theoretically, the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers are within striking distance of a divisional playoff spot, although it’s not all that likely.

Meanwhile, the Devils and Hurricanes don’t have a long history of trading with each other. Since the 2019-20 season, the pair have connected on two trades, the first being the deal sending defenseman Sami Vatanen to Carolina in 2020 and the other being a minor league swap of Zack Hayes and Jonathan Dugan in 2023.

Still, it’s hard to dislike Rantanen’s fit in the Devils lineup if the purported interest is accurate. Despite their need for a third-line center, Rantanen would objectively prove a massive upgrade over Ondřej Palát or Dawson Mercer in New Jersey’s top six. Rantanen has more points this season alone than Palát and Mercer combined. Although he doesn’t register many body checks, Rantanen is a physical forward who can put the puck in the net, which would benefit New Jersey’s 14th-ranked offense in terms of GF/G.

Unless the Hurricanes believe they have no realistic opportunity to win the Stanley Cup this season, it’s difficult to imagine a trade of this magnitude happening between the organizations. Even if the Devils maximize their cap space by placing Hughes on their long-term injured reserve, and they’re able to put together a compelling offer, it would make little sense for Carolina to improve a team they’re likely to face in the playoffs.

Oilers Acquire Trent Frederic

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The Oilers are acquiring forward Trent Frederic from the Bruins in a trade that will also involve the Devils as a third team, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Winger Max Jones is also headed from Boston to Edmonton in the deal, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. The Devils announced they’ve acquired the rights to left-wing prospect Shane Lachance from the Oilers and will retain half of Frederic’s salary in the trade after the Bruins’ initial 50% retention, bringing his cap hit for Edmonton down to $575K from $2.3MM. New Jersey also dealt the signing rights to right-winger Petr Hauser to the Oilers to complete their involvement. Edmonton announced the full trade, which reads as follows:

Oilers receive: Frederic, Jones, signing rights to Hauser
Devils receive: Signing rights to Lachance
Bruins receive: D Maximus Wanner, the Blues’ 2025 second-round pick, and the Oilers’ 2026 fourth-round pick.

Frederic is currently week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports there’s a possibility he won’t be cleared to play until the playoffs. In that case, the Oilers could place Frederic at his reduced cap hit on long-term injured reserve to open up additional spending flexibility for further moves ahead of Friday’s deadline.

Boston selected Frederic 29th overall in the 2016 draft, ahead of higher-ceiling forwards Alex DeBrincat and Jordan Kyrou who both went in the second round. After a brief but successful two-year collegiate stint at Wisconsin, the versatile depth piece took a couple of years to simmer in the minors, only emerging as a roster regular for the Bruins in the 2020-21 campaign.

Frederic spent a pair of seasons as a fourth-line fixture without much offensive pop, but the physical 6’3″ forward popped big time in Boston’s historic 65-win season in 2022-23. Skating primarily on the wing, he recorded 17-14–31 in 79 games despite averaging under 12 minutes per night, also finishing second among Bruins forwards with 105 hits.

In addition to spending more time down the middle, Frederic amped up his production last season. The Missouri native recorded a career-high 18-22–40 scoring line in 82 games, adding 204 hits while seeing a slight bump in his special teams deployment. But despite skating a career-high 13:55 per game in 2024-25, he hasn’t been able to keep up his scoring. Snakebit like the majority of his Boston teammates, Frederic has just 8-7–15 in 57 games with a career-worst -14 rating. His shooting percentage has regressed to 10.5% after hovering north of the 14% mark the prior two years.

While the drop in point totals is concerning, he’s established his floor as a high-end fourth-line piece with middle-six upside and will likely see an uptick in production depending on how he’s deployed amid a far more talented offensive group in Edmonton. His struggles this season, his expiring contract, and Boston’s slide down the standings made it almost a guarantee he’d be moved at the deadline. The 27-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time this summer after finishing out the year with the Oilers.

Frederic has posted similar offensive numbers to the Oilers’ current pair of third-line wingers in Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, so it’s unclear if he’ll unseat either for a top-nine role. While faceoffs aren’t his strong suit (a career average of 44.4%), his experience playing down the middle also addresses an immediate need for an Edmonton squad without a legitimate fourth-line center. He could slot in there once he’s ready to return, relieving natural wingers like Kasperi Kapanen who have had to step into the role lately.

They also pick up Jones, who amounts to a failed offseason pickup for Boston. He managed only seven appearances for the Bs after signing a two-year, $2MM deal last offseason, going without a point and averaging 10:01 per game. Selected a few spots ahead of Frederic by the Ducks in the 2016 draft, Jones will remain on his minor-league assignment after clearing waivers in November but now reports to the Oilers’ affiliate in Bakersfield. His $1MM cap hit is completely buriable in the minors and thus carries no cap impact for Edmonton. Before the move, he posted 13-8–21 with a plus-one rating in 38 games for the P-Bruins.

Rounding out Edmonton’s haul in the deal is Hauser, who New Jersey selected in the fifth round in 2022. The 21-year-old is amid a tumultuous campaign in his native Czechia, playing for three different squads across the top-level and second-tier professional leagues. He has 1-10–11 in 63 Czech Extraliga games dating back to his top-level debut in the 2022-23 season. While he has great size at 6’4″ and 207 lbs, he wasn’t considered a meaningful prospect in the Devils organization by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic in his January ranking. He’s a low-ceiling, low-floor option whose signing rights will expire in June 2026.

The Oilers give up a decently intriguing prospect in Lachance for the Devils’ additional salary retention. The son of ex-NHLer and Devils head scout Scott Lachance was the No. 6 prospect in an already-thin Edmonton system, per Wheeler. The 6’5″ winger has suited up for Boston University the past two seasons after Edmonton selected him in the sixth round in 2021, posting 23-29–52 in 72 games while also serving as captain this season. New Jersey will hold his signing rights until the Aug. 15 following his final collegiate season.

In what’s been a strong rental market, Boston landing what’s slated to be a mid-tier second-round pick is some decent work by general manager Don Sweeney. Edmonton previously acquired the second-rounder from St. Louis as compensation for signing defenseman Philip Broberg to an offer sheet last August. The Bruins didn’t have a second-rounder in this year’s draft before the trade – they traded theirs to the Capitals in the 2023 Dmitry Orlov three-team deal.

Wanner was also one of the Oilers’ more notable prospects, checking in at No. 10 in Wheeler’s rankings. The 6’3″ righty isn’t a legitimate needle-mover for a Bruins pool that lacks high-end talent, though. Now 21, he was a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft and projects as a likely No. 7/8 option on an NHL depth chart at his peak. He’s been limited to just two points in 22 games with Bakersfield this year after posting 7-10–17 in 68 games with a +13 rating in his first pro season last year. He’ll now report to Providence.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

New Jersey Devils Activate Jacob Markström, Reassign Nico Daws

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The New Jersey Devils are now only one defenseman away from a healthy roster. New Jersey announced they’ve activated goaltender Jacob Markström from the injured reserve and reassigned Nico Daws to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, in a corresponding roster move.

Markström has been on the injured reserve for over a month due to a knee sprain. Boston Bruins’ forward Justin Brazeau accidentally crashed into Markström following a shot attempt in the teams’ matchup against each other on January 22nd.

Despite missing 39 days, Markström only missed 11 of the Devils’ games, thanks to the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Markström was originally supposed to play for Team Sweden during the international tournament but was precluded from doing so due to his sprained knee.

Regular backup netminder Jake Allen played well throughout that stretch, although the team did not. Allen managed a 3-5-0 record as the de facto starter with a .914 SV%. As mentioned, the team didn’t respond well to Markström’s absence, middling to a 6-5-0 record.

As respectably as Allen played, New Jersey had no internal options to replace Markström adequately. The Gavle, Sweden native has a 21-9-5 record in 36 starts this year with a .912 SV% and 2.20 GAA. He’ll look to maintain and even improve that production for the Devils throughout the final stretch of the 2024-25 campaign.

Meanwhile, Markström’s absence allowed Daws his first look in the NHL this season. He went undefeated in three starts with a .966 SV% and 0.88 GAA, far better than his production in Utica. He’ll return to a disappointing Comets’ roster where he’s managed a 6-15-2 record in 23 games with a .891 SV% and 3.37 GAA.

Devils Looking For Scoring Help

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  • While the Devils have been known to be looking for centers for most of the season, Gabriel Trevino of NJ Advance Media relays that they’re also looking to add scoring help although a move is unlikely to come until right before the deadline. He adds that New Jersey is in a spot where they’re open to accepting rentals or longer-term fits.  However, while the latter would cost more to acquire, defenseman Simon Nemec is not someone the team intends to move despite the fact he has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, something he hasn’t been happy  They’re projected to have less than $1.7MM in cap room available on deadline day, per PuckPedia, so they’ll need to get creative if they’re going to add an impact player to their roster.

New Jersey Devils Activate Nico Hischier

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New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier will play his first game in approximately a month. New Jersey has officially activated their eight-year center ahead of tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars.

Hischier’s activation was expected given he’s been regularly skating for the past few weeks. Thanks to the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, Hischier only missed six games due to the oblique injury. The Devils managed a 3-3-0 record in his absence.

The Brig, Switzerland native was on pace for the second-best offensive season of his career and likely still could. Hischier scored 24 goals and 43 points in 51 games leading up to the injury, which puts him 24 points behind his 67-point output in 71 games last year. Still, thanks to his hot streak to start the 2024-25 campaign, it is likely Hischier will surpass his career-high of 31 goals in a single season.

Despite a healthy forward core, New Jersey will still be shorthanded this evening. Netminder Jacob Markström and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler continue to recover from their knee and lower-body injuries respectively. Those injuries shouldn’t create an insurmountable hurdle for the Devils to overcome.

Even without their top goaltender, New Jersey has averaged 2.28 goals-against per game while maintaining their plus-3.00 goals-for average. Being efficient in the faceoff dot, displaying above-average possession metrics, and scoring nearly every other game this season, Hischier should help the Devils improve in both categories even further.

Minor Transactions: 2/20/25

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Minor moves will continue across the league Thursday as teams dial in their rosters coming out of the 4 Nations break. We’ll keep track of those moves here as always:

  • The Blues announced Thursday they’ve called up forward Zachary Bolduc from AHL Springfield. The move was widely expected after they assigned him to the minors for the first time this season at the beginning of the 4 Nations break to get playing time while St. Louis was off. The 2021 first-round pick rejoins the club after posting 6-12–18 with a +10 rating through 46 games to begin the year. Bolduc, 21, posted a pair of assists and a minus-three rating in four games with Springfield over the last two weeks.
  • The Devils announced they’d recalled goaltender Nico Daws from AHL Utica and reassigned forward Chase Stillman to Utica and goalie Tyler Brennan to ECHL Adirondack in corresponding transactions. Brennan and Stillman were recalled Tuesday to practice with the Devils while some of their players were returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off and were expected to return to their respective minor-league clubs in the coming days. Daws comes back up to serve as Jake Allen’s backup coming out of the break until starter Jacob Markström is ready to return from his MCL sprain, which is set to keep him out for another two weeks. The 24-year-old won his only start of the season against the Penguins on Feb. 4, stopping 25 of 27 shots for a .926 SV%. He also saved all seven shots he faced in relief of Allen against the Sabres on Feb. 2.
  • The Lightning announced they’ve reassigned left-winger Gabriel Fortier to AHL Syracuse. Tampa recalled him Tuesday to serve as an extra practice player as their contingent of 4 Nations players works their way back to Florida, but it won’t result in any NHL playing time. The 2018 second-rounder hasn’t suited up for the Bolts since 2022-23 and has 10-7–17 in 37 AHL games this season with a plus-five rating.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Brett Pesce To Serve As Standby Player For Team USA

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Team USA has been given permission to bring Sabres center Tage Thompson and Devils defenseman Brett Pesce to Boston as standby players for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off finale, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.  As was the case with Quinn Hughes who was initially intended as the reserve player, the only way Thompson or Pesce could suit up versus Canada is if Team USA drops below 12 healthy forwards or six healthy blueliners.  Thompson was one of the more notable omissions from the initial roster and is averaging a point per game through 48 outings in Buffalo.  Meanwhile, Pesce has been as advertised in his first season with New Jersey, logging nearly 21 minutes a night in a shutdown role in his 48 appearances.

Devils Place Jacob Markstrom, Jonas Siegenthaler On IR

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The New Jersey Devils have made a flurry of move with the hockey world’s attention turning back towards NHL rosters. Most notably, the team has placed starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom (knee) and top-four defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (lower-body) on injured reserve. Markstrom has missed New Jersey’s last seven games after suffering an MCL sprain in New Jersey’s win over Boston on January 22nd. He was announced as out four-to-six weeks at the time of his injury. Markstrom has posted a dazzling 21-9-5 record and .912 save percentage in 36 appearances this year. His starting role has been filled by veteran Jake Allen, who also has a .912 save percentage but just a 9-11-1 record in 21 games.

Siegenthaler’s injury is less clear. He left New Jersey’s February 7th game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking an awkward hit from Anthony Beauvillier. Siegenthaler missed New Jersey’s last two games. He is expected to miss an additional two-to-three weeks after undergoing a procedure to address his injury during the 4-Nations break, per head coach Sheldon Keefe. Siegenthaler has been one of New Jersey’s top defenders this season. He has just nine points in 55 games, but formed a strong pairing with Johnathan Kovacevic.

In corresponding moves, New Jersey also recalled defensemen Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey, and goaltender Tyler Brennan, to join the team’s Tuesday practice. The pair of defenders stand as perhaps New Jersey’s top two prospects. Nemec and Casey lead the Utica Comets’ blue-line in scoring, with 23 points in 34 games and 15 points in 22 games respectively. Meanwhile, Brennan has spent his last two seasons with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder. He’s begun vying for the starting role this year, leading all Thunder netminders with 22 games played and posting a 6-14-2 record and .870 save percentage. Brennan likely won’t stick with the roster when games start back up, but one of Casey or Nemec could hold onto a spot depending on how long Siegenthaler misses.

New Jersey has utilized 22 of 23 roster slots with both defense prospects up. That final roster spot could soon be taken up by captain Nico Hischier’s return. Keefe told NHL.com that Hischier didn’t seem to be dealing with any sort of discomfort in New Jersey’s first day back, though he’ll need to be approved by doctors before he can return. Hischier added that he felt like his break, and Tuesday’s practice, both went well. The top Swiss has missed New Jersey’s last six games with an oblique injury after taking a cross-check to the ribs in the Devils’ January 25th win over the Boston Bruins. He’s been one of New Jersey’s top forwards when healthy, with 24 goals and 43 points in 51 games. Hischier will immediately return to a top-line role, should he be healthy enough to play this weekend.

Trade Deadline Primer: New Jersey Devils

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break here, the trade deadline looms large and is less than three weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New Jersey Devils.

A fully healthy Devils lineup is showing us exactly what they can do. New Jersey is safely positioned in a playoff spot entering the trade deadline after finishing bottom-five in the Eastern Conference last season. Still, the team is firmly set at the top for their forward core and defense, giving them little to add at the deadline. They have room to add in some areas but they won’t need too much heavy lifting to become a bona fide contender.

Record

31-20-6, 3rd in the Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$5.558MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: NJ 2nd, EDM 2nd, WPG 2nd, VGK 3rd, NJ 4th, SJ 6th, NJ 6th
2026: NJ 1st, NJ 2nd, NJ 3rd, DAL 4th, WPG 4th, NJ 5th, NJ 6th, NJ 7th

Trade Chips

Although they don’t have their first-round pick for the 2025 NHL Draft thanks to the trade that landed netminder Jacob Markström, the Devils have a trio of second-round picks they easily part with at the deadline. The Oilers’ second-round pick was acquired in the trade sending John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club this past offseason, and they landed the Jets’ second-round pick after trading Tyler Toffoli during last year’s deadline.

It’s inarguable where the Devils will trade from if they look to move prospects. New Jersey already carries one of the deepest blue lines in the league and has plenty of youngsters waiting in the wings.

Scoring three goals and 15 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Utica Comets, defenseman Seamus Casey likely has similar value to a first-round pick. A prospect of his caliber would normally be a lock for NHL minutes relatively soon but Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Simon Nemec are blocking most if not all of his minutes.

Beyond Casey, a recent first-round pick of the Devils, Anton Silayev, could also garner interest. He’s got a higher ceiling than Casey given his size and skating ability, but he’s still a few years away from being an NHL regular. Given the Devils’ immediate needs, neither defenseman strikes as a popular trade candidate for the deadline but New Jersey could make both available in the offseason for a high-impact move.

Team Needs

1) Third-Line Center: If the Devils need anything to supplement their roster, it’s a third-line center. Erik Haula has performed admirably, securing a 54.4% faceoff rate with over 500 attempts. Still, Haula is better served in a fourth-line role at this point of his career giving New Jersey a hole on their third line. Jake Evans of the Montreal Canadiens, who the Devils have already been linked to, would be the obvious choice as a rental candidate. Outside of Evans, New Jersey could look into the market for San Jose Sharks’ Luke Kunin, Utah’s Nick Bjugstad, and Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins for a similar addition.

2) Additional Bottom-Six Depth: Despite specifically needing a third-line center, the Devils could generally use more depth in the bottom-six of their forward core. Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen have been two of their better additions from the offseason but the Devils could stand to make the likes of Tomas Tatar a rotational piece. It wouldn’t be a game-changing add, but a winger such as Brandon Tanev, Michael Carcone, or Alexandre Texier could slightly move the needle when it comes to New Jersey’s playoff chances.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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