2. Health
It is extremely hard to assume health in professional sports, especially a sport with the physical nature of hockey. With four years of experience under his belt, Hughes knows how to play his game in the National Hockey League and has shown the ability to evade body checks.
So, let’s say that Hughes avoids missing time due to injury this season. Hughes played in 78 contests last season (that felt like the longest four games ever), tallying 43 goals and 56 assists, good for a total of 99 points. If Hughes had played those four missed games, it is safe to say that he would have tallied at least one point to get to 100.
Even upon his return from injury, Hughes still looked as if he was in considerable pain, which also affected his final point total. If Hughes can play 75+ games entirely healthy, then 100 points is a layup. Stay away from him, Brady Tkachuk.
3. Progression
As previously mentioned, Jack Hughes has progressed in each season of his young four-year NHL career. It is a fair assessment to expect increased progression in his fifth season at the *checks notes* ripe age of 22.
Hughes is a generational talent. Now that he has dipped his feet into the playoff waters of the NHL and has a taste of that, expect him to kick it into another gear. Hughes may still be a couple of years away from winning the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player, thanks to the insanity that is Connor McDavid, but 100+ points can be expected in the 2023-2024 season.