Rangers have Brian Leetch flashback after Devils star’s non-hockey injury
Any New York Rangers fan of a certain vintage likely had a flashback Friday, after news broke that New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes sustained a bizarre non-hockey injury.
Details remain unconfirmed, but Hughes reportedly injured his hand in a “freak accident” at a team dinner Thursday in Chicago. There are several rumors out there, including that he accidentally cut his hand with a knife, or the cut occurred when he “leaned on a glass, and it broke.”
As speculation grew, the Devils tried to get out in front of things when they announced Hughes is “out with a non-hockey, hand injury.”
The Devils provided further information Saturday, when they announced Hughes had surgery on his finger and is out eight weeks, a major blow to the team.
Hughes, who has a team-high 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 17 games, misses his first game Saturday when the Devils visit the Washington Capitals. They do not have a morning skate scheduled, so coach Sheldon Keefe meets with reporters at 4:45 p.m. to, perhaps, provide more clarity on the exact nature of the injury.
All of the mystery surrounding the 24-year-old’s off-ice injury is eerily similar to one sustained by Rangers superstar Brian Leetch back in 1993. After an 8-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden on March 19, the Rangers and their fans were stunned the next morning by the news that Leetch broke his right ankle the previous night.
The devastating injury didn’t occur in the game, but supposedly did take place on ice. The Rangers stated that the defending Norris Trophy-winner as the League’s top defenseman slipped on a patch of ice outside his apartment getting out of a taxi following the game.
However, rumors quickly spread that Leetch, who turned 25 just weeks earlier, and several teammates were out late at a local establishment and he broke the ankle taking a misstep off the curb heading toward a taxi. Even in the days before social media, rumors about how Leetch broke his ankle spread like wildfire.
Leetch’s injury was the capper on a tremendously disappointing season for him and the Rangers. Earlier that season, Leetch missed three months due to a nerve injury that affected his neck and shoulder, after he crashed into the boards during a game. The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1992-93, coach Roger Neilson was fired before the season ended, and Mark Messier and Co. were booed off the Garden ice in their finale.
The Devils can only hope their season doesn’t similarly go off the rails after the Hughes injury. They’re certainly playing good hockey — far better than the Rangers in 1992-93 — and there’s no evidence yet that this injury will be as catastrophic to them as Leetch’s was to the Blueshirts 31 years ago.
New Jersey (12-4-1) sits atop the Eastern Conference with 25 points, but defenseman Brett Pesce and forwards Connor Brown and Zack MacEwen are on IR. And defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Cody Glass remain day to day with injuries.
Remember, a strong start last season wasn’t enough to sustain the Devils, when they were hit hard by injuries to Hughes and Hamilton, among others, and they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.
Circling back to the Rangers, things worked out quite well the following season, when they won the Stanley Cup in 1994 and Leetch snagged the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. Leetch eventually had his No. 2 retired by the Rangers and he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
