On June 21, 2019, the Devils drafted Jack Hughes as the No. 1 overall pick to lead this franchise out of the wilderness after being a Stanley Cup contender for two decades going back to the 90s.
Fast forward to four years later, Hughes will lead the Devils to their first playoff appearance since the 2017-2018 season on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center when they play the Rangers in the first-round series. It will be his first-ever NHL playoff game, with likely many more games to come in his promising career.
This is the moment he and the Devils have been waiting for from the day he got drafted. That dream becomes a reality now. The Stanley Cup Playoffs serve as a legacy for hockey players in the sense that they make their names by creating big moments that last a lifetime.
Hughes hopes to join a long list of Devils stars such as Martin Brodeur, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Bobby Holik, Scott Stevens, Patrik Elias, Randy McKay and others who have contributed to the team’s excellence.
With his talent and intelligence, he will get that opportunity after four years of NHL apprentice.
It will be interesting to see how he goes about it in his first taste of playoff hockey. It’s so different from regular-season hockey. Everything is faster. Players log on for plenty of minutes, so in a sense, it’s about endurance. Goaltending and defense are at a high level. There’s no substitute for experience.
The Devils seem to be the consensus pick to win the series against the Rangers based on talent, but playoff hockey defies conventional wisdom. It’s about more about grit and fluke goals. There was a reason why the Devils signed Ondrej Palat and acquired Erik Haula and John Marino. They have been there and done that. They know what to do in the postseason. Playoff hockey is more for guys like them than Hughes when a hockey fan realizes the role players make a name for themselves.
But make no mistake. Hughes has to be the guy if the Devils are going to create a new dynasty.
The Devils star is coming off a career-high 43 goals and 56 assists in his fourth season. It sure seems like he has figured the game out. He is the definition of a game-changer in a league that is more known for speed and skating than clutching and grabbing.
The game fits well with Hughes’ talent. He knows how to make something happen when he has the puck. Hughes can create his own scoring chances. He can wing it as much as anyone. He is a guy that can make others better by dishing it out to his linemates when they have an open space to score.
Hughes has scored clutch goals this season whether it was scoring a 20-second overtime game-winner against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 27 or when he tied the game at three with 10:32 remaining in regulation that eventually would set up Damon Severson to score the game-winner in overtime that would give the Devils a 4-3 win on Jan. 7 or when he broke a 2-2 tie with a goal that would give the Devils a 3-2 lead that would turn out to be a 5-3 winner on Nov. 28.
He capped off a great month in January by scoring 13 goals that eventually had the Devils in a good position to make the playoffs.
The Devils star is so good that he can overcome the experience cliché that can hinder young players. There are things he does no one can teach. In a series that will feature high scoring and plenty of skating, Hughes gives the Devils a chance to beat the Rangers.
He is a guy who can crash into the net. He can score from long distance. He can dish the puck. He is everything that a star should be.
He could be on his way to being the best offensive player in Devils' history. As for the best player in Devils history, that may be tough as he is going up against Stevens, Brodeur and Niedermayer that boast three Stanley Cups. That’s a high bar for him.
The playoffs will determine Hughes’ legacy as a Devil. Being a great regular-season player is nice, but there’s nothing like being a hero in the postseason. It’s what the fourth-year Devil envisioned when he had worked to achieve his dreams of being an NHL player.
He made a name for himself in the regular season, but now the hard work begins. The great ones shine in the postseason.
Hughes is no longer the future. He is the present for this franchise creating new memories for Devils fans that are young and old.
Everything is all set up for the Devils young star. The moment is made for him.
The journey begins now.
You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays
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