The 20-year-old center was injured in the second period of a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday following a collision with Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom. He had imaging done on his knee Monday, and the Devils announced the diagnosis during their game against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on Tuesday. Hughes was not in the lineup.
The Devils said the limited time remaining in the season (12 games after Tuesday) is the reason Hughes won't return. New Jersey (24-39-6) is last in the eight-team Metropolitan Division and has been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Hughes leads the Devils with 26 goals and he's second on the team with 56 points in 49 games. He has set NHL career highs in goals, assists (30), points, power play goals (six), power play points (14) and shots on goal (165) in his third season.
He missed 17 games from Oct. 21-Nov. 28 with a dislocated left shoulder.
"I think the growth of his game has been on a real good scale," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of Hughes. "He's determined to be a player that can be counted on away from the puck to be responsible. And once he's had the puck, I don't know if you can describe some nights the growth he's had, the amount of time he has the puck and what he does with it. Creates his own chances, creates chances for the players that he's with. Every night he's in on the offense.
"You look at what he's done, you'd be hard-pressed to find probably a player on every team that's been doing for us what he's been doing."
