Devils' Brenden Dillon breaks silence on his scary neck injury after playoff exit

Brenden Dillon's 2025 postseason was cut short before it ever really got started. The Devils' defenseman was injured during the second period of their Game 1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Apr. 20. It ultimately ended his season as New Jersey went on to lose the series in five games, eliminated before he could make a return.

The injury report had been listing Dillon as out with a lower-body ailment; however, we're now learning in the aftermath that he was dealing with a neck injury.

Dillon spoke about it on Friday morning and revealed that it was one of the scariest incidents of his career. Devils play-by-play voice Bill Spaulding shared his full comments on X (formerly Twitter).

"I’ve never had anything that bad in my career," Dillon said. "Suffered a neck injury on the play…short term within rounds one and two I wasn’t going to be able to come back but long term it seems optimistic that I’ll have a normal summer and be ready for camp."

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Dillon just completed his first season as a Devil after signing a three-year, $12,000,000 contract with the team as a free agent in 2024. He finished with 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) while playing all 82 games during the regular season.

The Devils knew Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes were not returning in the first round

Despite being labeled day-to-day, Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes were never options to return from injuries in Round 1 against Carolina.

ESPN writer Greg Wyshynski shared on X on Tuesday what head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the Game 5 loss.

"Sheldon Keefe said the Devils knew after Game 1 that Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon wouldn't be back for the rest of the series," Wyshynski wrote.

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Dillon and Hughes were big losses for the Devils, though others like Brian Dumoulin and Simon Nemec stepped up in their absence. In the end, the injuries were too much to overcome, and they couldn't keep up with a tremendous Hurricanes team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.

New Jersey will need to get healthy over the summer and make some additions to its roster in hopes of a deeper playoff run in the 2025-26 season.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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Edited by Jackson Weber

Devils' Brenden Dillon breaks silence on his scary neck injury after playoff exit - "Never had anything that bad"

The Devils knew Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes were not returning in the first round