The New Jersey Devils had a fantastic season in 2022-23. Going into the season, they had a lot of questions. Most of which were answered.
There were so many positives this past season. The Devils won more games than the franchise has ever won. They had more points than this team has ever recorded. Jack Hughes scored more points than any Devils player ever. It was positive after positive after positive, leading to the Devils ending the New York Rangers season in Game 7 of the first round. Let’s lay out exactly what we learned this past season.
Jack Hughes is a Superstar
Jack Hughes is not only a superstar, but he might be the best young star in the game, depending on what you consider young. When talking about players under 22 years old, there is Andrei Svechnikov, Tim Stuzle, Rasmus Dahlin, and the incoming Connor Bedard. Even with the hype around Bedard, Hughes is still the top star among them.
Hughes broke the Devils all-time franchise points record for one season, beating Patrik Elias’s mark from 22 years ago. Not even Taylor Hall’s MVP season was better than Elias’s 97 points from 2000-01. Hughes blew past it and almost became the first Devils player with 100 points.
This player is 21 years old. He is just touching the surface of his abilities. Hughes will get better and better as the years go by. By next season, we expect him to be a top-five center. The Devils are a contender because of Hughes. He could be this generation’s Sidney Crosby.