Hughes, who has 70 points in 62 games, was injured on Sunday when he crashed into the boards during a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Devils placed him on long-term injured reserve and said he would be back for the start of training camp.
The injury comes with the Devils sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division and on a 2-4 slide, including their last two. They’re just six points ahead of the top non-playoff team and have played two more games.
New Jersey’s situation got worse when defenseman Dougie Hamilton left Tuesday’s game with an injury. The team had no update Wednesday on his condition.
The Devils were in need of more scoring even before Hughes’ injury. They rank 14th in goals per game and there’s a dropoff after Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier.
Placing Hughes on LTIR gives the Devils cap relief if they make a trade before Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
When was Jack Hughes injured?
Hughes crashed into the boards in the third period Sunday and left the game. Vegas’ Jack Eichel, who got tangled up with Hughes, checked to make sure his Team USA 4 Nations Face-Off teammate was OK.
Hughes missed 20 games last season because of various injuries.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe fined $25,000 for arguing non-call
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe, who was ejected Sunday after complaining about the lack of a call on the play on which Hughes was injured, was fined $25,000 on Wednesday for unprofessional conduct directed at the officials.
Jack Hughes statistics
Hughes has a team-best 27 goals, 43 assists and 70 points in 62 games. He’s tied with Bratt for the team lead in points.
This story has been updated with new information.