NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes said he looks forward to the day when the New Jersey Devils are consistently in contention for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I'm in my third year now and I want to be playing important hockey down the stretch," the 20-year-old center said. "It's frustrating where we're at, but at the same time, we've dealt with a lot of things this year and I think we still have made positive strides. We've beaten some really good hockey teams and hopefully next year we can get back to it, but we still have games left and we should keep trying to win them and keep pushing it."
The Devils (24-37-5) are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for last in the eight-team Metropolitan Division and on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season. But Hughes said they are going in the right direction.
"We're working on the culture and trying to create a winning environment," he said.
Hughes is front and center for the rebuilding Devils. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft leads New Jersey with 24 goals and is second with 54 points in 46 games.
Hughes, who signed an eight-year, $64-million contract ($8 million average annual value) on Nov. 30, 2021 that begins next season, scored three points (two goals, one assist) in the Devils first two games of the season before missing the next 17 (Oct. 21-Nov. 28) with a dislocated shoulder.
He has scored 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games and his 100th NHL point when he scored two goals in 7-4 win against the New York Rangers on March 22. He has scored 106 points (42 goals, 64 assists) in 163 NHL games and became the fourth Devils player to score 100 points before his 21st birthday (20 years, 312 days). He joins Kirk Muller (20 year, 12 days), Nico Hischier (20 years, 274 days) and Brendan Shanahan (20 years, 306 days).
NHL.com caught up with Hughes to discuss the season, his teammates and older brother Quinn, a defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks, and younger brother Luke, a defenseman at the University of Michigan who was selected No. 4 by the Devils in the 2021 NHL Draft and was recently named a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the player voted best in NCAA men's hockey.
When you returned to the lineup following your shoulder injury, did you envision going on a run like the one you've been on?
"I don't know. It took me a while to get back into it. I had a major injury, and I missed a lot of time and I had to reassert myself, get my timing back and just little plays where I can take bumps and take hits where, you know, you feel comfortable. So, it took me some time, but obviously I've been on a pretty good run. I don't know if I ever expected it. I was kind of just playing and trying to push the pace, push my game and here we are."