On Oct. 24, the New Jersey Devils fell 5-3 against the Detroit Red Wings. One of the goals scored featured a rare showing of aggression from Jack Hughes — in which he tried but failed to stop an empty-net goal from Detroit's heavyweight Michael Rasmussen with a body check.
Despite it not going in his favor — and that's putting it lightly since he ended up on his back — this physicality from Hughes was a heavily talked about moment. And to be fair, in a situation like that Hughes really didn't have a choice but to go in for the check.
Jack Hughes tried to stop Michael Rasmussen from putting home the empty netter and got SMOKED 🔥
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 25, 2024
Rasmussen stared down Hughes, chirped him, and tempers flared pic.twitter.com/LOUsCwmrM7
Julien Garza, a 22-year-old Devils fan based in Michigan, said that their favorite moments to watch on the ice are when players get physical.
"Personally for me, I love the aggression, I love the fights. I love the tussles that players get into and I love the sass that something like that brings onto the ice," Garza said. "I think that not only does it build and add more to the rivalries but it also builds more character to the players ... It's my favorite part of hockey for sure."
Hughes is currently 23-years-old and the alternate captain for New Jersey. The Florida native has played in 324 games while logging 121 goals and 178 assists. He's on the smaller side for a hockey player, standing at 5'11" and weighing 175 pounds.
Though, that's not to say smaller players cannot be aggressive. Brandon Prust was also on the smaller side — coming in one inch taller and 19 pounds heavier than Hughes, but he was a pugilist who was never afraid to dish out a hard hit or drop the gloves to defend a teammate.
Jaylyn Walker, a 20-year-old Devils fan, said she knows that a change in Hughes' play style will result in more pucks finding the back of the net for the New Jersey Devils.
"With Jack being a center, his job is to pass the puck and create scoring opportunities," Walker said. "While Jack plays the center role as an offensive position, I feel that if he was able to use that on-ice aggression in a defensive way, he’d be able to get to the puck more and create those scoring opportunities for both him and his teammates."
"Using that aggression to connect more hits will ultimately lead the the puck going back into the Devils hands, creating more scoring opportunities," Walker said.
His previously mentioned 324 games of playing time notwithstanding, there has only ever been one instance where Hughes dropped his gloves. This was when Hughes took down Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho midway through the second period of play in Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Despite clearly pinning Aho on his back, Devils fans haven't really seen Hughes follow this up with much more physicality.
Garza said they could see Hughes developing into becoming a player similar to teammate Nico Hischier if he were to be more forceful on the ice. While Hughes will always have the offensive side of the game at the forefront, this would help him be more of a well-rounded player.
"A good example of how could really change Jack's game is Nico Hischier," Garza said. "He’s been playing super tough and way more aggressive this season. We’re only around 15 games in and Nico has already scored 10 goals and a hand full of assists. Last I checked Nico was also one of the goal leaders in the NHL right now — and that's exactly how I can see Jack developing if he utilizes more aggression."
In fact, compared to other franchises the Devils certainly don't provide their fan base with as much fighting as others. The most recent significant fight that comes to mind was over half a year ago at Madison Square Garden when the Rangers and Devils engaged in a full-on line brawl just moments after puck drop. Between all of the players involved, both teams accumulating a total of 130 penalty minutes.
Hughes dropping his gloves at least a couple more times while he's still on the younger side of his career and already has one wrestling match won under his belt really wouldn't be too bad to see. As long as he finds a way to do it without getting injured, these will only help his case as a team leader.
In fact, Walker said she only sees that benefiting the Devils in the future.
"Using that aggression to connect more hits will ultimately lead to the puck going back into the Devils hands, creating more scoring opportunities," Walker said.