Devils reveal 2 vital injuries to start training camp

The New Jersey Devils have opened training camp for the 2025-26 season. Expectations are high for the Devils, but the story of 2024-25 was injuries. The injury bug has continued this year, as the team has announced multiple ailments to open training camp.

The team announced five players missing time during an on-ice session. The major announcement was the status of Stefan Noesen. He injured his groin during the 2024-25 campaign. The American forward still managed to play 78 games during the season and was healing. He re-injured himself during the summer and required a procedure. Noesen is expected to miss some time, but no definitive timeline was given for his return.

The other major injury was to defenseman Johnny Kovacevic. He was expected to once again be a part of the defensive rotation for the team after playing 81 games and being fourth among blueliners in ice time in 2024-25. He had knee surgery over the summer and is now out indefinitely.

The team also announced that Jacob Markstrom did not participate in practice due to personal/family reasons. Meanwhile, Shane Lachance and Lenni Hameenaho both sustained injuries in the Prospects Challenge and are being monitored.

The impact of these injuries on the Devils

Noesen was one of the major surprises early in the 2024-25 season. He finished the campaign with 22 goals and 19 assists, placing him sixth on the team in points with 41. The former first-round pick was also a major powerplay threat, lighting the lamp 11 times and adding four helpers. He is coming off career highs in goals, assists, points, and powerplay points in his first season back with the Devils. The forward was expected to take a spot on the second line and top powerplay unit, so if he misses significant time, he could be a difficult player to replace.

Kovacevic was also coming off one of the best seasons of his career. It led to the blue liner getting a contract extension from the Devils during the season. He spent much of the year joining Jonas Siegenthaler and was top-five on the team in both hits and blocks. Now, the Devils will need Simon Nemec to step up in his absence.

The Devils had bad injury luck in 2024-25, and it is continuing into this season. If the team is going to reach their ultimate goal of lifting the Stanley Cup, they need their injury luck to turn around in a hurry.