The New Jersey Devils are riding high right now, going into Friday night’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks on a six-game winning streak. They were atop the entire Eastern Conference, with all of their wins coming in regulation. It’s way, way too early, but the vibes are incredible right now.
A huge part of the vibes is thanks to, of course, Jack Hughes. The New Jersey Devils’ superstar forward has been on a heater, scoring six goals in his last four games.
He capped it off with a hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, showcasing his talents in front of a massive international audience. The Maple Leafs boast the biggest fanbase in hockey, so seeing a player of Hughes’s caliber stoked a reaction. It was also the first time his head coach, Sheldon Keefe, beat his former team in Toronto.
Many takes started out positive. And how could they not be? Hughes took that game over. He was stellar with the puck on his stick, helped the Devils strike down multiple opposing power plays, and, like we said, he scored three goals.
Yet, when some in the media go one way, others feel the need to go the other way. And that’s exactly what happened. A tweet by Bleacher Report’s Adam Herman really stoked the flames and got people talking.
Assuming full health, I think Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are the only NHL players I am 100% sure are better than Jack Hughes.
— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) October 22, 2025
And I don't think there's a reasonable argument for having him any lower than 5th.
We’ll admit it, that seems extreme. Although Hughes did outperform Connor McDavid against the defending Western Conference champions last week. That seems relevant to the argument.
This caused way too many people to wildly overreact to the overreaction. Just one example comes from the What Chaos show, hosted by Pete Blackburn. They listed off players they think are better than Hughes, and insanely brought up names like Evan Bouchard and Sebastian Aho. Let’s calm down guys.
Jack Hughes is one of the best in the NHL despite the narratives this week
Hughes, at the peak of his powers, is one of the best players in the National Hockey League. There is no denying this. Is he a top 10 player or a top 20 player? We think he’s in the top 10 despite the preseason rankings.
He is at WORST a top-three skater amongst forwards. His ability to stop on a dime and create space in any zone puts him way above the rest of the league. His agility is second to none, and his hockey IQ puts the whole package together. He often has more shots per game than most of the league, and that’s because he is opening space for himself to create opportunities.
This conversation is all in good fun, as are most hockey conversations this early in the season. It’s all about creating narratives, and the Devils are often on the “wrong” side of those narratives.