It’s been quite the week for Jack Hughes. Honestly, it hasn’t even been a week. Can you believe that Jack Hughes scored a goal to beat Canada in overtime of the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics just three days ago? It feels like that happened last season with everything that’s happened since.
Getting into the politics of the situation is getting into the muck of this situation. It’s distraction with a purpose. So, we won’t oblige that situation, only saying we wish the women’s team was treated with more respect.
However, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Hughes, whose reputation was now in question. Many were asking if it was too much, and some were even questioning Hughes’s real thoughts on the women’s team, which is especially important because his mother is a member of the team’s staff.
On Wednesday, Hughes was able to say a few words before the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. He did just about everything right.
First, he brought Tage Thompson up to be honored with him. That was a really nice gesture for the fans in the arena who wanted to celebrate the win. It also showed the importance of the team aspect of all of this.
Then, he made comments talking about how proud he is to be from New Jersey. He talked about how happy he is to be back, and he even gave a deserved shout out to the women’s team.
After that, he accepted an award of the New Jersey state flag with Democratic governor Mikie Sherrill.
Jack Hughes brought out Tage Thompson and spoke to the New Jersey crowd in his return to the NHL after they brought home the gold medal 👏 pic.twitter.com/4p1bBMKRns
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 26, 2026
"I'm so proud and I'm so happy that the men's and women's U.S. hockey teams brought gold medals back to the United States of America. 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. "Jack Hughes, Devils forward
The words matter. The moment mattered. Will it erase some of the moments in the past week that have hurt his brand? We live in a word with a lot of division. People think we have to pick sides. I hope people can look at this objectively and with the nuance it deserves.
He made a mistake acting the way he did after the joke about the women's team was said in the locker room, but he's spent a lot of time before and after he scored the Golden Goal singing the women's team's praises. Moments after scoring the gold medal-winning goal, he shouted out Megan Keller, who scored the women's Golden Goal. He mentioned them on multiple interviews. At some point, he will have done enough to make up for one bad moment where he was put in a bad position.
After the game, he was asked directly about going to the State of the Union. He said that "we're just hockey players" and he understands there are different views. That was admittedly a nonanswer, but it was the only answer that lowers the temperature on this. At this point, this is how we move forward.
This is the same Jack Hughes who came out publicly to say how he misses the way Pride Night used to work and how much he supports the LGBTQ community. It's the same Hughes who started a reading program to get kids in New Jersey on track with his brother. People can be upset with his actions, but let's allow him to show his whole ethics.