Hughes taking in newfound fame from Olympics, hopes to get Devils into playoff

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes never set out to become a celebrity.

From the first day he could skate, he always worked to be the best version of himself. 

It turns out that version involved a whole lot more than just being a hockey prodigy and star forward with the New Jersey Devils. These days, he’s a national hero and role model to a new generation of hockey-crazed fans wishing to be just like him. 

Hughes fever took America by storm right after the 24-year-old center scored the gold-medal winning goal 1:41 into overtime for Team USA in a 2-1 victory against Team Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Feb. 22.  It was a game that, at its peak, was watched by 26 million people. 

A postgame photo of Hughes with his bloody mouth, chipped tooth from the game and an American flag wrapped around him instantly became an iconic image. 

Since that goal, he's been the most sought-after sports personality in the world.

"What I love about Jack is he's preaching a lot of the stuff that our team talked about," U.S. teammate and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "The patriotism of playing for the United States, what it means to wear the red, white and blue, and how honored all 25 guys were to be representing the greatest country in the world. Jack has become a great ambassador for hockey with that."

Team USA's triumph marked the first time the country won gold in men’s hockey at the Olympics since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.

"Just a ginormous deal for the country and for USA Hockey," Hughes said. "I don't want to make it about myself but definitely a lot of cool people reached out; people that have helped me get to where I'm at and supported me all the way have reached out and that's what's most important."

His whirlwind media tour following the gold medal game including a spot on “The Today Show” two days after the game and a visit to White House with his teammates that afternoon. 

"I think everybody from that team has had a pretty whirlwind couple weeks but him probably more than anybody," Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews said. "But I'm so happy for him. He's an incredible person, incredible player. I think all the attention he's getting couldn't have happened to a better person. We're all super happy for him and I'm happy for him. He scored that goal. It was pretty big and changed a lot of our lives."

Jack and his brother Quinn, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild and Team USA, also appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." He also appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show." Heck, he even has a sandwich named in his honor at Hobby's Deli, located a block from Prudential Center in downtown Newark: “Jack's Golden Goal Sandwich,” featuring rare roast beef, American cheese and golden onions. 

Jack will be back in the national spotlight on Saturday when the Devils host the rival New York Rangers at Prudential Center (3 p.m. ET; ABC, SN1, SN).  New Jersey (31-29-2) has won three in a row but enters Saturday nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

The new-found fame hasn't changed his personality, but with the attention comes responsibility and a larger national audience and platform, something not often experienced by hockey players.

"I mean, for sure it's different audiences, like 'SNL', Fallon and McAfee ... those are non-hockey audiences, so there's definitely different people seeing it," he said. "But I've had fun doing it with my brother and just being a part of all those experiences."

Truth is, whether he knows it or not, life will never be the same.

"He's obviously a star player in this League and for a lot of American kids growing up, they're going to be envisioning that goal and envisioning themselves as being the next Jack Hughes," Matthews said. "I think that's great for our sport and great for our country as well."

Indeed. The Golden Boy has received the royal treatment. 

"I don't think one goal changes you," Jack's youngest brother and Devils defenseman Luke Hughes said. "Obviously he's really been around the map lately. He was just happy they won the gold medal but it's really cool experiences and fun to watch."

Jack's shot heard around the country gave him a little something in common with Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal for the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team in a 4-3 win against the heavily favored Soviet Union on Feb. 22, 1980. 

"The goals he scored were big-time goals," said New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan, who was the Team USA coach in Milan. "It’s an emotional roller coaster when you go through these experiences, and I just think Jack was at the center of a lot of the good things that happened for our team.

"He’s a high-stakes player. He brought his very best when the stakes were the highest." 

He has 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 23 regular-season games against the Rangers since entering the League in 2019-20. No active NHL player has scored more goals against the Rangers in that span, and he ranks second in points behind Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (34 points; 11 goals).

"Jack's never short on confidence, which is why a moment like [the gold medal game] he can execute," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said.

"Jack played a much different role than he's accustomed to playing in New Jersey, bought into that, and still thrived in the role given. I think you can't help but grow as a player and as a leader and ultimately a champion to go through that."

He entered the Olympics with questions because of injuries and struggles to find his offensive groove. He missed 21 games this season, including 18 straight from Nov. 15-Dec. 19 because of a non-hockey injury to his hand. He returned Dec. 21 but sustained a lower-body injury against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 29 and missed the Devils’ three games entering the Olympic break.

He finished tied with Matthews for the scoring lead among Team USA forwards with seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games in a bottom-six role. 

Hughes has 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 41 games this season. He has 17 points (one goal, 16 assists) in his past 16, including five points (all assists) since returning from Milan.

"He's battled for us through a really tough injury, which is unfortunate," Jack's linemate, Connor Brown, said. "He played through things that a lot of guys wouldn't play through. It's a testament to his character but when he's been healthy, he's been one of the best players in the League and that showed on the Olympic stage."

Hughes remains the only player to begin his NHL career in the season after starring for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. He had 112 points (34 goals, 78 assists) in 50 games with the Program in 2018-19.

He was selected by the Devils with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and made his debut on Oct. 4. 

Alex Vlasic, a defenseman with the Chicago Blackhawks, played 61 games with the NTDP that season. Selected in the second round (No. 43) of the 2019 draft, Vlasic spent three seasons at Boston University before beginning his professional career in 2021-22.

"He was far beyond most of us at that age and his skating ability obviously is probably his No. 1 strong suit," Vlasic said. "His shot has gotten significantly better. It feels like he’s able to shoot the puck with a lot more velocity, picking those corners. I think as you get older, you get a little bit stronger, you get a little more confidence, and you could see all the tools come together for him.

"For him to get that goal was huge, and I can’t imagine that feeling. It’s something that everybody dreams of as a kid, scoring that OT winner in the Olympics."

Hughes has played more than 62 regular-season games once in his NHL career, when he scored 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 78 games and the Devils reached the Eastern Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23.

He scored five points (three goals, two assists) in seven playoff games against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round that season.

"I think every year you try to add things to your game, and I think you need to look back and see what works and what doesn't and try to continue to do the things that make you successful," Hughes said. "The things that maybe don't work, you try to eliminate from your game and recreate and find different ways to do it. But you're definitely always reinventing yourself, trying to elevate your game. I can add things here and there that might help me a little bit each year."

Said Tkachuk: "To see the success that everybody's had since the Olympics, but especially a guy like Jack, scoring the biggest goal in 46 years for the United States. It's been really great to follow along but now we have that special bond of just accomplishing something so special that we're linked together forever. We're brothers forever, champions forever."

In 409 NHL games, Hughes has more assists (239) and points (392) than any player selected in the 2019 NHL Draft. He and Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, who played with Hughes at the NTDP, are tied for most goals (153).

"Jack is always going to be a dominant puck-handler whether he's producing goals or not," said Devils forward Jesper Bratt, who represented Team Sweden at the Olympics. "If he's on the scoresheet or not, he still generates so much transition by winning pucks back, stripping guys of the puck and then transitioning to offense.

"He just spends so much time with the puck that he helps our team no matter what."

Despite all that, Hughes still has a real thirst to become even better.

"He's very receptive and wants to be coached," Keefe said. "He's a student of the game, enjoys conversation. When I've been direct and blunt with him, he's taken it very well, whether that's in a 1-on-1 setting or in front of the team. I have no issues there with coaching Jack. He wants to be pushed, wants solutions. If he's not going well, if the team's not going well, he wants some help to get it going. 

"He's a special talent, very intelligent and has lots to offer, so I'm interested in his take. What's he seeing? What's he feeling out there? I think that's important to have with your top players and particularly with a player like Jack because he's so cerebral with how he plays the game. I really enjoy our back and forth that way."

Florida coach Paul Maurice, who is Canada-born, was asked how he feels the golden goal might change Hughes' life.

"I think it's a huge deal in the United States, for sure," Maurice said. "It's certainly something that was attached to Sidney Crosby (in Canada), but that was part of a career that was brilliant."

Crosby had won the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he scored the overtime goal for Team Canada in a 3-2 win against Team USA in the gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

"[Hughes] is young and he's got so much more time to write that career and that goal will be part of it," Maurice said. "If he becomes part of a Stanley Cup champion, it will be as it was with Mr. Crosby. It'll be a wonderful thing to add. But certainly, in the U.S., Jack is on every billboard coming in from our hotel to Prudential Center and good for him. It's wonderful for our game and we should all celebrate that. How does it impact him? I think he's got lots of years to write a longer story."

For now, an entire nation is watching and listening to his every word and, in the process, discovering just how special a person he really is. 

"It's an honor just to win the gold medal for the U.S.," Hughes said. "It's been the best couple weeks of my life and just a lot of fun celebrating with the guys and enjoying it. Now, after all this, it's in the rearview mirror for a little bit. We'll pull it out back in the summer. But it's back to Devils and locking back in here and trying to win some games."

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report