Coming off a season that saw the Devils improve 49 points, an NHL record, the leader offensively for that turnaround is 2019 first-overall pick Jack Hughes.
It wasn’t an easy start to Jack Hughes’ career. His rookie point totals were the lowest of any first-overall pick since Joe Thornton in the late 1990s. He was being tagged early as the biggest draft bust in NHL history right off the bat by fans alike. The COVID-19 pandemic surely didn’t help him, either.
Breakout Year for the Young Star Forward
The 2022-23 season should change all of our perspectives on the player Hughes is and will be. He led the team offensively with a New Jersey Devils record 99-point season, and he encapsulates the new brand of Devils hockey. It’s fast, and it’s exciting.
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When I watch Hughes, I see a player that isn’t boxed into a system. He’s not afraid to take chances or shoot from anywhere. When he’s on the ice, something is going to happen. We can credit the veteran coach Lindy Ruff for knowing his players and allowing his most dynamic offensive player to be creative while focusing on coaching his support.
The Devils’ Brand of Hockey
These aren’t your ‘Dead Puck Era’ New Jersey Devils, and Ruff is one of the best coaches in the game. Right now, the Devils have two very different, elite centers in Hughes and Nico Hischier. Hischier is a nominee for the 2023 Frank J. Selke Trophy, and I think it’s only a matter of time before Hughes earns a nomination for the Hart Trophy.
Everything Devils fans wanted Hughes to become when they drafted him first overall in 2019 he’s become. His 2022-23 season, at 21 years old, was a breakout year on a young team with untapped potential.
Hughes led the Devils in offensive categories: goals (43), assists (56), power-play points (31) and shots on goal (336). His full potential has not been reached yet, however. The best years are yet to come for the young franchise player. At this stage of his career, he’s already broken the Devils’ record for points in a season, a record set by Patrik Elias more than 20 years ago.
Surrounding the Devils’ Young Core
The focal point for general manager Tom Fitzgerald in the months leading up to the NHL trade deadline was to make the Devils harder to play against. The acquisition of Timo Meier at the deadline is proof of that, a high-end power-forward entering his prime to complement the Devils’ young skill.
We don’t know what Fitzgerald will do in free agency or with restricted free agent Timo Meier. But I will speculate that the Devils will be a tougher team to play against in their bottom six next season, and they’re going to continue surrounding Hughes with offensive weapons. They have the cap space to do that. I don’t necessarily think they’ll spend all of their cap space in one offseason, as they’re ahead in the rebuilding process with the unprecedented turnaround they achieved this past season and a prospect pool ready to compete for full-time NHL jobs.
There are high expectations, but the expectations are from a fanbase that is willing to be patient and watch this young team turn into a perennial contender; led by a budding superstar and one of the top all-around forwards in the league in Hischier.
Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium
For the first time in almost ten years, the Devils will play an outdoor hockey game as part of the Navy Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. The event will showcase one of the NHL’s most exciting young players in Hughes against their divisional foes, the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 17.
The ticketing and pricing for the event haven’t been released yet. But Devils Black and Red Ticket Membership will have priority ticketing opportunities. It will be the first time the NHL has hosted two outdoor games at the same venue, as the following day the New York Rangers will face off against the New York Islanders.
When I first saw the announcement of the Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium, I instantly thought about Wayne Gretzky. In 1983, if you recall, Gretzky called the New Jersey Devils a “Mickey Mouse Organization”.
Well, get out your old Mickey Mouse hats Devils fans, because it’s expected that over 75,000 will be in attendance for the event at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In addition to featuring a young, exciting team in the Devils, the series will also be a measuring stick for how Fitzgerald shapes the team this offseason. The outdoor conditions in February may give us our first real glimpse at a team poised to tough out a few wins down the stretch and in the playoffs. But make no mistake about it, it’s the Jack Hughes show at the Meadowlands.
