3 Current New Jersey Devils Players Who Could Make Hall of Fame
By Nick Villano
Right now, New Jersey Devils fans are waiting for two popular names to make the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s preposterous that Alexander Mogilny isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Patrik Elias always has a case to make it every year. This year’s class was a strange one, but Henrik Lundqvist is the star of that show. We hope to see Mogilny and Elias in the Hall one day.
They aren’t the only ones. This era of Devils hockey has better talent than we may have ever seen. If everything develops like we hope, we’ll see multiple Stanley Cup parades in the future. With that comes glory, popularity, and praise. That is how a Hall of Fame career is made. Sure, the on-ice results have to follow, but it’s all about the narrative.
The Devils have 11 players who are now enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Some are more surprising than others. As we look at the Devils roster right now, there are a few candidates who could one day push for Hall of Fame inclusion. One looks pretty obvious right now.
1. Jack Hughes
Of course, Jack Hughes is the most likely player to make the Hall of Fame on this current roster. There’s no veteran former superstar like P.K. Subban. Hughes is by far the best player. If he even matches what he does this season for the next five years, he would be at over 700 points at just 27 years old. He should be in the middle of his prime, theoretically double that total.
Jeremy Roenick has the most points of players eligible for the Hall of Fame but isn’t in. He has just over 1,200 points, which Hughes should destroy if he stays on this pace. This isn’t even saying he beats the pace he’s on, which is 99 points per season. This shouldn’t be his ceiling, so Hughes might go crazy.
Talking about Hughes’s ceiling is honestly nuts. Could he get into the top 20 in points in NHL history? Adam Oates is 20th with 1,420 points. That seems incredibly attainable. Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin are less than 200 points away, so they should pass him at some point. Connor McDavid and Austin Mathews should get there as well. Even if all four make the top 20, Hughes also has every chance to get there. If that’s the case, he’ll be a lock for the Hall of Fame.