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The Devils honored their Olympic gold medal game-winning goal scorer Jack Hughes before Wednesday night's game. Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images
NEWARK, N.J. — Cheers rained down on Jack Hughes as he stood near center ice. Instead of a hockey stick, he had a microphone in his hands.
Moments before, much to the crowd’s delight, a replay of the New Jersey Devils forward scoring the overtime winner for Team USA in Sunday’s Olympic final against Canada was shown on the Prudential Center video board. Hughes, still missing teeth from a high stick late taken in regulation, told the Devils fans how happy he was that both the men’s and women’s U.S. hockey teams had won gold medals in Milan.
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“You guys are making me emotional,” he said. “I’m so proud to represent the New Jersey Devils organization, and I’m so, so proud to represent the great state of New Jersey. So proud.”
After the game, a 2-1 Devils loss to Buffalo, the Devils held a news conference for Hughes that was far more crowded than a normal New Jersey postgame media availability. More than 20 reporters and team employees were packed in, with six cameras behind them and filming. Hughes continues to be at the center of the hockey universe and has newfound fame beyond it. As goalie Jake Allen said after the game, “his life’s changed forever.”
“I get goosebumps watching the video now (of the goal) just because the emotion is so raw,” Hughes said in his press conference. “It means so much to every single one of those guys. We’re all genuinely so happy for each other that we won.”
Hughes said he didn’t see the puck go into the net, but when he turned back, he saw teammate Dylan Larkin sprinting on the ice.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Hughes said. “I was so proud of our group.”
In the aftermath of the game, though, came a wave of events unrelated to what happened on the ice. Team USA general manager Bill Guerin invited FBI director Kash Patel to celebrate with the players in the dressing room, and U.S. President Donald Trump called the team to congratulate them. He invited the men’s players to the State of the Union, then quipped that he would have to invite the women’s team too, or he “probably would be impeached,” which drew laughs from some players. Multiple members of the women’s team expressed displeasure with Trump’s joke but also spoke highly of their relationships with the U.S. men’s players. Hughes’ mother, Ellen, is a player development consultant for the women’s team.
“You’re in the moment,” Jack Hughes said when asked about the joke. “We’re blaring the music. They pause the music, and then the president calls. It is what it is now, but we have so much respect for the women’s team, they have so much respect for us. We’re all just proud Americans and we’re happy that we both swept the Olympics.”
Most of the men’s team, including Hughes, flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, met Trump at the White House and were recognized at the State of the Union. Hughes traveled back to New Jersey after the speech.
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After landing in Miami with his Olympic teammates to continue the celebration, Hughes rued that “everything is so political.” Asked how he squared that sentiment with going to the White House and a political speech, he said, “You’ve got to remember, we’re just hockey players.”
“We did our job,” he said. “We went over to the Olympics to win a gold medal and that’s what we did. I’ve had the best time of my life celebrating with my teammates that we accomplished our goal.”
He said he hasn’t really been surprised by any backlash he and his teammates have faced in the aftermath.
“Obviously there’s so many different people in the country with so many different views,” he said. “So no matter what’s going on, someone’s going to like it, someone’s not going to like it. For us, it was just about the celebration, celebrating USA Hockey, celebrating our teammates, our group of guys. We just had so much fun being together and enjoying the moment together.”
Hughes’ address to the crowd was part of a pregame ceremony put on by the Devils. He pumped his fist, then called American teammate and Sabres forward Tage Thompson onto the ice for an ovation of his own. He said he thought about including Thompson while lying in bed before his pregame nap.
“It’ll never be about one person. It’s always about the team, that group of guys,” he said. “I hope that when (Thompson) has his first game in Buffalo, they do something for him, and I hope he’s playing one of his American teammates and (he) can do the same thing. It’s all about the USA Hockey brotherhood and the team. And that’s what we are: We’re just such a team.”
The Sabres will host the Vegas Golden Knights, whose roster features Team USA players Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel, a former Sabres captain, when they return home Tuesday.
After Hughes’ speech, he and Thompson met on the ice for a ceremonial puck drop. Devils owner David Blitzer dropped the puck, and New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill (D) — met with boos from the crowd — presented Hughes with a state flag.
Multiple fans brought Hughes Team USA jerseys to the game, with a pair wearing fake gold medals around their necks. Michelob Ultra ran a promotion at the game for $8.60 beers in honor of Hughes’ jersey number (86).
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After the game, Hughes raved about his experience living in New Jersey and playing in front of Devils’ fans.
“Early on, for some reason, when I got drafted here — obviously I’m their first overall pick and I’m an American kid — but I just feel like they accepted me so deeply, and I just feel like I’m their guy,” he said. “Every time I drive in, all I think about is — when I see people walking at 4:30 with Hughes jerseys on — unrolling my window and screaming at them, ‘Love that.’ Just to represent New Jersey, to represent our fans, I’m so proud to be a Devil.”
Hughes’ goal gave the Americans their first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980, the year of the “Miracle on Ice” game against the heavily favored Soviets.
“The fact that I’m on a USA Hockey championship, Olympic gold medal team, it changes all of our lives,” Hughes said. “We’re champions and we’re Olympic gold medalists. We’re the team that broke the run of not being able to win. To break that streak and win a gold medal, it bonds us forever.”
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Peter Baugh is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in New York. He has previously been published in the Columbia Missourian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, Politico and the Washington Post. A St. Louis native, Peter graduated from the University of Missouri and previously covered the Missouri Tigers and the Colorado Avalanche for The Athletic. Follow Peter on Twitter @Peter_Baugh
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