New Jersey Devils star center Jack Hughes is set to return from a season-ending shoulder injury that ended his season in March. And if you needed any affirmation that he is ready to go for the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season, Hughes certainly gave you just that after a rather tense interaction with a reporter who questioned his offseason training regimen and recovery from the injury.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Hughes was asked on several occasions by the same reporter whether he had changed anything up in his training regimen this offseason to prepare for the upcoming season. And Hughes addressed the situation for the first, and hopefully for his sake, the last time, explaining how the injury he suffered was on a hit that would have injured any player in his eyes.
“Change anything up in the offseason training regimen?” the reporter asked.
“Well, I mean, my game is in a good spot, no? So, I mean, at the end of the day, you go into the M-wall a million miles an hour and you get hit, you are going to get hurt no matter what you do in the summer. For me, I think the most important thing was just to refresh my brain and get excited for this year. You have asked me that twice in one scrum. I think we can call it there for the year, alright?”
It’s understandable for Hughes to be a bit frustrated with the constant questions about his health, particularly coming from one reporter. After all, injuries have been an unfortunate trend throughout his career, as Hughes has been limited to 62 games or fewer in three of the last four seasons.
On the other hand, because Hughes hasn’t been as available as some would like, it’s hard to fault the reporter in question here for asking whether he has done anything to potential remain on the ice more frequently moving forward.
Hughes may not like the questions about his health. But one way to potentially avoid them in the future would be to keep a clean bill of health moving forward. And if he does, it would certainly be a huge boost to a Devils team that was able to reach the postseason without him down the stretch of the year.
When Hughes has been on the ice for the Devils, he has been an incredibly productive player, producing over a point per game in each of his last four seasons. So hopefully, for everyone involved, Hughes can get back to staying on the ice so that he can show off his very obvious talents this coming season.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.