New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes was once one of the most well-liked players in the league. The American forward played with zest and clearly put his team before himself. He played some insane shifts when his team needed it, and his smile was infectious. He was a marketing gem for the Devils and the NHL.
Things got complicated after he scored the Golden Goal, but his “reputation” was already changing. We can see it in the numbers and his reactions. Hughes was spending more time arguing with the referee, getting involved in scuffles after the whistle (to be fair, he rarely started them), and spending more time in the penalty box.
In 2021-22, Hughes had zero penalty minutes. He had just six in 2022-23. This past season, Hughes had 10 PIMs in 61 games.
He’s not exactly Matt Rempe out there, but the penalties are still significant to one award. When Hughes had zero, the expectation was that he would win the Lady Byng Award. How could it not be him?
The definition for the award is as follows:
"The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." "NHL.com
That year, the award actually went to Kyle Connor. The expectation was that Hughes’s time was coming, as he was young and growing. Connor had established himself as a star. Hughes wasn't even a finalist. Jaccob Slavin and Jared Spurgeon finished ahead of Hughes. The Devils' star finished seventh that season with five first-place votes.
Jack Hughes missed his chance to win the Lady Byng Award, and that's okay with us
People were right. Hughes would be seen as more aligned with the Lady Byng in 2023. He finished second to Anze Kopitar that season. We feel like there was a level of payback, since then-Devils star Taylor Hall beat Kopitar for the Hart Trophy back in 2018.
In 2024, Hughes finished 35th after an injury-riddled season. Last year, he finished 24th. This year, he might not even get a vote.
The era of “Jack Hughes, Lady Byng candidate” came and went in a flash. Now, he wants more prominent hardware. The Lady Byng is nice as a sentiment, but the Devils want to be different. They want to be winners, and winners aren’t always nice.
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