On Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils conducted their end of season exit interviews, where media had the opportunity to speak to each player on the roster and get their thoughts on the season. With the grind officially over, they also serve as an opportunity for further clarity on injuries they’ve gone through.
Related: Devils’ Brenden Dillon Nominated for 2026 Bill Masterton Trophy
Here are the five biggest takeaways from a day commonly known as “break-up day”:
Sheldon Keefe Unsure of Future with Devils
With general manager Tom Fitzgerald recently departing the organization, the status of Keefe’s job is still up in the air. Here’s what he said when asked about it:
“I’m sure there’ll be a process here, a chance for discussion, and you know, we’ll see where that goes. I don’t have an expectation at this point. I’ll just continue this job, which I’ve been directed to do, which is to get through the season, to have these discussions with the players as you normally would have at the end of the season, approach it like any other, and we’ll see where things go from there.”
Arseny Gritsyuk & Luke Hughes Have Successful Shoulder Surgery
Arseny Gritsyuk missed the final 12 games of the season to an injury that was labeled as upper body. Now, we’ve gotten more clarification.
The injury was to his shoulder, which happened in Dallas. It’s something he could have played through, but it could’ve become a much bigger issue if he hurt it again. So, he opted for surgery and had a successful one.
“I think two more weeks I need to wear sling and after I just start practicing,” Gritsyuk said.
While Luke Hughes wasn’t available today, he also had successful shoulder surgery and is back home in Michigan.
Luke originally hurt his shoulder in a January contest against the Calgary Flames. While many initially believed he would miss the remainder of the season, he returned in 40 days and played the next 19 days, before being shut down and having the surgery once the Devils were eliminated.
“Before going to Boston I spoke with him, just check in and see how he’s doing. He’s doing well,” said Keefe.
Swiss Devils Heading to Worlds
With the Devils having such a large Swiss contingent in Jonas Siegenthaler, Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, plus consistently failing to head deep into the playoffs, they almost always have a large representation at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships that take place each May.
This year will be no different; all three of those Swiss players are heading to Worlds as their National Team searches for an elusive Gold Medal. But there’s an even heightened importance as the tournament will take place in the country of Switzerland for the first time since 2009. It was supposed to happen again in 2020 before the pandemic negated that.
Devils’ netminder Jacob Markstrom (Sweden) said he will not attend as his focus is fully on the Devils. His fellow Swede, Jesper Bratt, has not made a decision yet. Simon Nemec (Slovakia) will not go to Worlds.
Olympic Golden Goal scorer Jack Hughes said he’s had some conversations, but he’ll see how things play out in the next few days. There’s always the possibility that other players could attend — Connor Brown, Dawson Mercer and Nico Daws have played in the tournament before.
Markstrom Shutdown Not Anything Serious
Jacob Markstrom was shut down a few days before the conclusion of the season “to rest and rehab nagging injuries.” Thankfully for the Devils and for Markstrom, it doesn’t appear to be anything major.:
“I got some MRI pictures done, and you know, there’s some fluid but there’s nothing major,” said Markstrom. “Nothing needs to be done, no procedure or anything. So the doctor was happy with it, and you know, rest for a little bit of time. I’m going to have a full offseason and start working out here in a couple of weeks.”
The following players won’t speak at exits today:
• #NJDevils Luke Hughes had successful surgery and he’s back home in Michigan.
• Brett Pesce is not here for personal reasons.
• Dougie Hamilton politely declined to speak.
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) April 15, 2026
Markstrom mightily struggled for a good portion of the season, playing to a .883 save percentage (SV%) and minus-11.9 goals saved above expected, according to Moneypuck. That ranked 86th out of 95 goalies to play in the NHL this season.
Stefan Noesen Missed Time Due to Cyst in Back of His Knee
Stefan Noesen was an integral part of the 2024-25 Devils team that made the playoffs, scoring over 40 points for the first time in his career. This season, he played just 38 games and notched only seven points; he had to get two different surgeries since the preseason — first a hip surgery, then one on a cyst in his knee.
“[The cyst] was kind of bugging me. It happens when you have ACL surgery, I had it 12 years ago now. It started growing, hurting,” said Noesen. “I’ve been getting it drained for a couple years, and it just took a nasty turn (…) I had one play in Pittsburgh where I couldn’t push off very well. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. So I had to get it done (…) one of those things that just kind of a shitty year from the beginning. July, had that hip thing going on (…) just one thing after another. I’m ready for it to be in the past and move on.”
Stay tuned to The Hockey Writers for all of your Devils-related news as the offseason gets underway.
