The New Jersey Devils are doing their part to honor the state’s health care workers during National Nurses Week.

It has been nearly two months since any hockey has been played at the Prudential Center in Newark. But the Devils have been hard at work showing support for New Jersey’s nurses.

“New Jersey has been a COVID hot spot, and it’s had a significant impact on all of our communities, and it’s been truly inspiring to see the sacrifices that so many on the front lines are making,” says Devils president Jake Reynolds.

The team announced that for National Nurses Week it will donate 10,000 tickets to front-line health care workers at RWJ Banabas Health for the next NHL season.

“For us, we look at this as an opportunity and obligation to be able to help people stay safe, recover and heal and we’re fortunate that the incredible platforms that sports and the Prudential Center have to be able to lean in and make a difference,” Reynolds says.

Additional tickets will also be donated for season ticket holders who push their credits to next year as part of a “pay it forward” initiative.

“Our marketing campaign this past year was ‘We are the Ones’ and you’re going to see that transition over the course of next week into ‘We are One’ and we are. We are one community and together we’re going to get through this and come through the other side much stronger,” Reynolds says.

The president says that one of the things he loves most about the sports industry is ‘its ability to unite and bring people together and serve as an escape for people.”

And while the future of the NHL’s return is still up in the air, Reynolds says, “We are working on different scenarios to ensure that when people do walk through the doors of the Prudential Center again, it’s going to be a special night.”

This is not the first time the Devils have honored health care workers during the crisis. The team also donated PPE and medical supplies to RWJ’s network of 13 hospitals in March.