The New Jersey Devils need to change the narrative quick as they’ve played sub-.500 hockey for over a month now. They desperately need Jack Hughes back.
Related: Getting to Know Devils’ Mikhail Yegorov
In this edition of Devils News & Rumors, we have some added context to Quinn Hughes‘ situation, a look at the numbers without Jack, and a positive storyline with one of the Devils’ most promising prospects.
Quinn Hughes‘ Future Landing Spot: New Jersey?
It’s been a real struggle for the Vancouver Canucks, who boast a 10-14-3 record. It’s been widely known that Quinn wants to play with his brothers at some point in his career…but with the recent Canucks’ woes, fans are wondering whether him to the Devils is a realistic possibility as early as this season.
Some are even going as far as saying Quinn doesn’t care about the Canucks and wants out right now. There are cherry-picked clips circulating — like these — that don’t explain the fact that Quinn plays over 27 minutes per night (!!) and will sometimes be exhausted on the tail-end of shifts. That doesn’t mean he’s given up.
— Bik Nizzar (@BikNizzar) December 3, 2025
These don’t all have to be mutually exclusive. He could still be committed to winning in Vancouver, and hoping they turn it around, while potentially getting dangled on the trade market for the right return. The next few months should be very interesting.
Struggles Without Jack Hughes
Speaking of struggles: without Quinn’s brother Jack, the Devils haven’t looked any better than the Canucks. That became super evident with Wednesday night’s 3-0 loss to the Dallas Stars.
Prior to Jack’s injury, the Devils scored 3.35 goals per game. Without him: just 2.67 per game, which is an over 20% decrease. Dating back four seasons — the span Jack started fully establishing himself as an elite player in the NHL — the Devils are 126-75-18 (.616 PTS%) with him and 22-28-3 without (.443 PTS%).
The Devils still have approximately 15 games left before Jack returns, provided that everything is on schedule. With the league’s current parity, they already have slipped to the second Wild Card spot and are just four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (14th in Eastern Conference).
As defenseman Brenden Dillon said, “By committee, instead of those highlight reel goals [we need to] be getting some greasy rebounds, throwing stuff to the net, crashing the net. We’re just not seeming to do that right now, and we’re going to have to change gears on that quick.”
Yegorov Shines at MSG
Promising Devils goaltending prospect Mikhail Yegorov recently got to play at Madison Square Garden for Boston University as they faced Cornell. He was phenomenal, stopping 28 of 29 (.966%) en route to a 2-1 victory.
Of course, for Yegorov, winning at “The Garden” is a feeling he hopes will repeat in the NHL as the Devils’ fiercest rivals play in that building. He’s still just 19 years old.
On a recent episode of the Speaking of the Devils show, Yegorov said he was unsure when he’ll be transitioning to pro hockey. He’s just focused on the goal in front of him now, which is trying to win a National Championship.
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