Jack Hughes will miss up to two months for the New Jersey Devils after having surgery on his finger.
The center, who sustained what the team described on Friday as a non-hockey injury, will be reevaluated at the six-week mark.
"Well, I think just out of respect for the situation, and it doesn't do anybody any good to dig too much into the details of what happened other than to say from our end of it, we're satisfied it was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said prior to a 3-2 shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. "Talked to the players who were there, members of our training and equipment staff that were there as well, and very unfortunate situation. More bad luck than anything. We're satisfied with that, and we'll just make sure we can do what we can to get Jack better."
If Hughes can return in eight weeks, he would be back in time to possibly play for the United States at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, which will be in February.
"It's a tough situation obviously," Keefe said. "You feel for Jack. He's been playing so well, he worked so hard last summer to get himself back and was playing very well so, it's tough for him, tough for us as a team. We've unfortunately had to get used to these situations of people dropping out of our lineup and pressing on as a team so that's what we'll have to do."
Hughes missed the final 20 games of the regular season and the Devils' five-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round last season after having shoulder surgery in March.
He leads the Devils in goals (10) and points (20) in 17 games this season, and had two assists in a 4-3 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
New Jersey also announed Saturday that forward Cody Glass is out week to week with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Blackhawks.
"It's a big hole," Keefe said. "You take Jack out in addition to Cody Glass. … It's a concern. We've got to manage it as best we can. I'm confident in the group. We played without Jack for a long period of time last year and were able to play .500 hockey. I expect more of our team. We weren't playing as well last time Jack went out as we are now. I expect more of our group. Just keep pressing on."
The Devils (13-4-1), who are first in the Metropolitan Division, are also currently without defensemen Dougie Hamilton (lower body), Brett Pesce (hand), and Johnathan Kovacevic (lower body), and forwards Zack MacEwen (undisclosed), Evgenii Dadonov (fractured hand) and Connor Brown (upper body). Hamilton and Brown are expected to rejoin the Devils at practice on Monday.
"Just got to dig in even more," Devils captain Nico Hischier said after the win Saturday. "Obviously we feel bad for Jack, bad for all the other guys who would like to be in the lineup, but it is what it is. ... From now on, we've got to move forward."
NHL.com independent correspondent Harvey Valentine contributed to this report
