The New Jersey Devils have certainly exceeded expectations early on in the season, playing to a remarkable 10-4-0 record while still remaining undefeated at home.
Related: NHL Morning Recap – November 7, 2025
In this edition of Devils News & Rumors, we take a look at some recent injury updates and a now-confirmed rumor about an upcoming new alternate jersey.
Dougie Hamilton Injury is “Minor”
A little before halfway through the second period against the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman Dougie Hamilton left the game with an injury and did not return. Today, head coach Sheldon Keefe gave an update on his status:
“It’s a minor injury. Going to be a minimum of a week for him, and then from that point it’ll just be a matter of how he’s feeling in terms of when he’ll come back.”
With Hamilton out of the fold, the Devils had recalled Colton White from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. There’s no question that regardless of the length of absence, this is a sizeable blow for the Devils as they’re already down Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic on the right side.
Kovacevic, Dadonov, Brown, Pesce: What We Know
Prior to Friday’s morning skate, Devils fans were notified of a pleasant surprise: Kovacevic and Evgenii Dadonov were skating on the practice sheet. Previously, neither of them was expected to return any time soon — especially Kovacevic, who would be out until January at the earliest.
A little less than an hour until practice starts.#NJDevils Evgenii Dadonov & Johnathan Kovacevic are on the ice getting some work in.
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) November 7, 2025
Does not necessarily mean either is close to a return, but seems encouraging nonetheless. pic.twitter.com/xxwTFqlw1d
Connor Brown has been day-to-day for awhile, and Keefe’s update today did not sound too encouraging. “Connor’s status is unchanged,” said Keefe. “He’ll need some more time for things to resolve. We’re not expecting it to be too long, but his return’s not imminent at this point.”
Brett Pesce was caught on the broadcast with a cast on his left hand, which likely signals that he’ll be out a while. There is still no exact timeline, but his father Brian said on X that he’s doing fine (mentally) and just needs to heal up.
Third Jersey Coming Soon!?
On a recent episode of Speaking of the Devils, Ryan Novozinsky and Martin Brodeur both mentioned they had heard a new alternate jersey was coming to replace the infamous “Jersey jersey”. Naturally, this has sparked tons of fan discourse on what the jersey should look like.
There is no timeline on when the jersey will arrive or what the design could possibly entail. But the support for the “Jersey jersey” seemed to be split down the middle, with some loving it while others despised it. It will be very intriguing to see how the final design appears — and how fans receive — their upcoming jersey option.
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