Jack Hughes enters the 2026-27 season with plenty to prove, and the setup around him suggests another big offensive push could be on the way.
Even after scoring the Golden Goal for Team USA at the Olympics and closing last season playing at a high level, Hughes and the Devils still fell short of the playoffs. He also lost 21 games to two injuries, including the infamous finger laceration at a Chicago restaurant in November 2025. Now he’s back in a season that will be judged by whether he can rebound, lead, and help drag New Jersey back into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The production history tells its own story. Hughes has cleared both 30 and 40 goals in a season only once, and that came in 2022-23 when he broke the franchise’s all-time points-in-a-season record. Since then, he’s scored 27 goals in each of the last three seasons and has landed in the early-to-mid 70s in points over that same stretch.
Injuries have been a major part of that dip. Hughes hasn’t played a full healthy season in four years, and the uncertainty around his durability has fueled plenty of debate about what his ceiling really looks like. Still, there are reasons to think this season could be different.
One is the way he finished 25-26. Hughes put up 15 goals and 36 assists down the stretch and, for that period, was without question one of the best players in the league. The Olympic experience appears to have sharpened him, not just in how he plays, but in how he carries himself with the media and the fans.
The other factor is the talent around him. Jesper Bratt, Connor Brown, and newly signed Anthony Mantha give Hughes a group of wings who can both create chances and finish them. Mantha stands out most after coming off a 30+goal season with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, and that kind of support could give Hughes’ numbers a real lift.
There’s a clear sense that Hughes has more to give. He has motivation, he has help, and he has something to prove to himself, the Devils, and the rest of the league. The expectation here is straightforward: he’s lined up for the first 100+point season of his career and the first in franchise history.
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Markstroms rough year with the Devils made the change easy to understand, but it also left a bigger question hanging over the roster. With Daws and Rittich now part of the mix, the issue is no longer simply who replaces Markstrom in net, but how the Devils plan to manage the position at all when the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]