No one who is available and on the market is going to amount to what Jack Hughes provides for the New Jersey Devils. Therefore, expecting an outsourced player to come in and fill his shoes will surely be disappointing.

New Jersey hasn't won consecutive games since Jan. 22-25. It has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs 10 times in the past 12 seasons, last qualifying in 2022-23 when it reached the second round for the first time since 2012 after finishing with the most wins (52) and points (112) in its history.

The New Jersey Devils' depth at the center position suffered a huge blow on Sunday as captain Jack Hughes exited his team's 2–0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Hughes was forced out of the game following a third-period collision with Jack Eichel with under two minutes remaining that sent the former crashing into the boards.