Despite a myriad of injuries, the New Jersey Devils have continued to churn out victories, playing to a remarkable 13-4-1 record. They have yet to suffer a regulation loss at home.
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In this edition of Devils News & Rumors, we take a look at some recent injury updates and two rumors circulating in the Devils’ sphere.
Important Injury Updates
As if the Devils weren’t going through enough injury-wise, they recently lost three key forwards in a ~24 hour span: Jack Hughes, Cody Glass and Zack MacEwen.
The team reported that Jack Hughes underwent surgery on his finger and the expected return to play is eight weeks. That’s a crushing blow for the Devils.
Before their recent contest in Washington, head coach Sheldon Keefe gave updates on Glass and MacEwen to NJD.TV:
Glass is “week to week” with an upper body injury after he appeared to head into the boards shoulder-first. MacEwen will be evaluated on Monday but is expected “to miss an extended period of time.” Neither sounds too promising.
However, there was (finally) some positive news: Dougie Hamilton and Connor Brown are expected to join the team for practice on Monday. They’ll both be welcome additions in the wake of all these injuries.
Interest in Bringing Back a Former Devil!?
On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff Rundown: Insider Edition, Dave Pagnotta mentioned that he believes former Devil Blake Coleman is on the team’s radar.
“[Coleman’s] now in Calgary with another year on his contract…a fantastic complementary piece for a Stanley Cup contender like New Jersey…I think he’s on their radar. I think he’s on a few teams’ radars,” he said.
Coleman’s Calgary Flames are off to a dreadful 5-12-3 start — last in the league by a significant margin, as their points percentage is .096% lower than any other team. The 5-foot-11 Coleman has this season and one more remaining on his deal at $4.9 million per.
Coleman has a 10-team approved trade list, according to PuckPedia, meaning he could potentially have some say over who he ends up with (if traded). He’s already a fan favorite in Jersey as he notched 94 points in parts of four seasons with them. His seven goals would currently rank third on the Devils, behind Jack Hughes (10) and Dawson Mercer (9).
Devils Grateful They Held on to Nemec
It’s been a roller coaster of a past year for Simon Nemec. From a dreadful 2024-25 regular season, to triumph in the playoffs, to mightily struggling to start this season…it appears he’s finally establishing himself as he’s stepped up in the wake of injuries.
On a recent episode of the Tri-State Hockey Podcast, Arthur Staple said that New York Islanders’ general manager Mathieu Darche discussed a potential Nemec trade with the Devils over the summer:
“I would imagine that whatever package the Islanders are looking for — because they’re very short on right defenseman in their organization — that Colorado first-round pick that they got for Brock Nelson is probably the thing that they’re dangling the most. Clearly, the Devils didn’t feel like they were ready to give up on Simon Nemec for that kind of package.”
In the game following the podcast episode, Nemec proceeded to notch a hat-trick including a game-winning overtime goal in Chicago. He became the second Devils defenseman ever to score three in a game; Uli Hiemer did it first in 1984. He then scored a shootout winner in Washington.
Staple also mentioned that Islanders’ forward J.G. Pageau would be a great fit for the Devils down the line as he’s had considerable playoff success.
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