The New Jersey Devils have a lot invested in Jack Hughes. They took him with the number one overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and have him signed to a long-term deal at a rather lucrative price. The hope is that he leads a group of very good young players to the promised land.
Hughes took a huge step in 2021-22. He was injured for a lot of it which was unfortunate but he should be much healthier going forward. Once he gets bigger, faster, and stronger, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for him anymore.
He scored 26 goals and had 30 assists for 56 points in 49 games played this year. That is a 93-point pace for him at 20 years old (he turned 21 after the season ended). The fact that he is just scratching the surface of his potential with those numbers is scary.
Most of Hughes’ numbers were amongst the team leaders despite missing just under half the season. If Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt weren’t very good offensively (especially in the second half), he could have led the team in scoring with those numbers as he came in third.
One ESPN hockey analyst thinks highly of New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes.
One person who has taken note is ESPN’s John Buccigross who has become a well-known Jack Hughes fan. Bucci went on the Bardown: Talking Hockey podcast on Wednesday and had some very nice things to say about Hughes and what he might be able to do in the future.
He also made a crazy claim that he is the next Patrick Kane. For those who don’t know, Kane is one of the greatest hockey players who ever lived. He is probably going to be remembered as the greatest American player ever and could be the greatest Chicago Blackhawks player ever too.
If Hughes did 80 percent of what Kane has done in the NHL, he will walk into the Hall of Fame. That is quite the compliment coming from a guy who is a well-respected hockey mind. We can only hope that it comes true.
Bucci did suggest the idea of Hughes becoming a winger as Kane did back in the day because of some injury troubles. However, he did note that it could be because of an age thing and that Hughes still has a chance to get bigger, stronger, and faster. That would certainly suit him well.
It is nice to hear him say nice things about the Devils in general. Despite what some people might think, this team has a lot of high-end talent and could be really good in the coming years. It is going to be a good offseason for them as they try to turn things around.