He Lost More Than A Tooth

I don't think the man to the left needs an introduction as you probably recognize New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes thanks to his work done in Italy. You may remember him scoring the gold medal-winning goal against Canada in overtime to give the Americans their first finish atop the men's hockey podium since 1980 in Lake Placid. Obviously, that's a massive moment in international and US hockey history, and all of the important pieces from that game went to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. However, Jack Hughes' comments today make me think that the Canadian stick that knocked his tooth out in that gold medal game may have done more damage than just affecting his smile.

According to an article by ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, "Jack Hughes wants the Hockey Hall of Fame to give him the puck from his gold-medal-winning overtime goal for Team USA in the Milan Cortina Olympics."

"I'm trying to get it. Like, that's bulls--- that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?" Hughes told ESPN in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. He also told Wyshynski, "I don't see why Megan Keller or I shouldn't have those pucks."

I don't even know where to start with this one, but let's give it a shot.

First and foremost, leave Megan Keller out of this. The US women already went through all the trouble of trying to rationalize the misogyny shown by the US men's team once, and Keller certainly doesn't need to be a part of this baffling stupidity. Keller hasn't made one mention of the puck with which she scored her overtime winner because she clearly understands the process by which the puck goes to the Hockey Hall of Fame while she gets the gold medal for scoring. Keller's not complaining, so don't wrap her up in this gem of idiocy.

The second point should be easiest to understand because anytime something historical happens in hockey, the Hockey Hall of Fame is involved with collecting as much paraphernalia as possible for their exhibits. That includes gold medal-winning, overtime goals like the one that Sidney Crosby scored in 2010, like the one that Marie-Philip Poulin scored in 2022, like the one that Megan Keller scored this year, and like the one that Jack Hughes scored this year. This isn't new, it shouldn't be a surprise, and it definitely has happened before.

You might be wondering why Hughes wants the puck so badly, and he revealed that to Wyshynski as well in the exclusive interview.

"I wouldn't even want it for myself. I'd want it for my dad. I know he'd just love, love having it," said Hughes, whose father Jim Hughes has hockey collections from Jack's, Quinn's and Luke's careers. "When I look back in time in my career, I don't collect too many things for myself, but my dad's a monster collector for the three of us. I know he would have a special place for it."

You mean a special place like the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside all of the other historical artifacts and moments from hockey's rich and colourful history where the story of Jack Hughes' goal in Italy could be mentioned in the same breath as the Summit Series and the Miracle On Ice? If that place isn't special enough for the puck, perhaps Papa Hughes should have taught his eldest son a few more lessons in selflessness because it seems that was never learned.

They gave Jack Hughes a gold medal for earning, with his teammates, Olympic hockey's highest honour. That medal represents more than a puck ever will, but it seems that lesson was also lost somewhere on the flight home. The kicker is that Hughes didn't even think of the puck until he was asked about it during "an interview on TNT on" Feburary 26 - four days after he scored the goal! You'd think a kid who was so concerned about getting his dad a puck would have been all over it during the hysteria following the goal he scored, right?

But I guess that thought didn't even cross his mind. Isn't that peculiar?

Ths demand that Jack Hughes made in the ESPN interview is so outrageously absurd that I hope the hockey gods ensure that never wins anything ever again until he issues an apology for his selfishness. What Hughes did in Italy was both significant and historical, and the Hockey Hall of Fame is the right place for that puck to be given the magntiude of that goal. Yes, it's the biggest goal of Hughes' career to date, but it's also the biggest goal that Team USA's men's program has scored in the last 46 years. Everyone should share in that.

Jack Hughes lost a tooth against Canada, but it seems he's clearly lost his mind with the demand he made today. I don't know if the two are related, but I know that I've lost all respect for Jack Hughes. As the old saying goes, "Million-dollar talent, but a ten-cent head."

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!