Martin Brodeur says Jack Hughes is taking greater responsibility with the New Jersey Devils

Martin Brodeur says New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes is entering a promising new stage of his NHL career after an Olympic breakthrough. Brodeur, who won three Stanley Cup championships with the Devils and later added two Olympic gold medals with Canada, pointed to Hughes’ performance in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey tournament, where Hughes scored at 1:41 of overtime as Team USA defeated Team Canada 2-1 in the gold medal game on Feb. 22 in Milan, Italy.

Speaking to NHL.com, Brodeur said the key change is how Hughes has come back with more mature responsibility and a desire to bring those lessons to New Jersey. Brodeur described Hughes as taking on leadership duties and “taking the bull by the horns” in games, while also emphasizing that understanding how to win comes from experiencing what it takes to do so.

Brodeur also addressed an ongoing theme in Hughes’ career: health. He said health has “always been a bit of an issue” and that Hughes takes it seriously. The report notes Hughes has only played more than 62 regular-season games once since entering the NHL in 2019-20, with that exception coming in 2022-23.

The Devils’ organizational support for Hughes was also discussed. The report states Hughes pointed to offseason additions and forward additions including Evan Rodrigues, Luke Evangelista and Anthony Mantha as reasons New Jersey could feature one of its deepest forward groups, which Brodeur said could allow Hughes to play his game with less concern about the team collapsing if someone misses time.

Hughes is entering his eighth NHL season and is described as an assistant captain alongside Jesper Bratt, working alongside captain Nico Hischier and the Devils’ veteran leadership group. The article adds that Hughes said his priority is helping New Jersey qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and be ready for “big-time moments.”

Written by Vancouver Television Sports Desk