The face of hockey is 38 years old. No offense to Sidney Crosby, but it’s time for a new face.
That new face has a broken tooth.
That face is Jack Hughes, 24, who scored the golden goal for the U.S. at the Olympics and plays in the New York market (kind of). Hockey needs to jump on that moving train.
Hockey won’t. The NHL won’t. Stupidity dipped in old-school has always held hockey back.
But Hughes checks every box.
He drips charisma.
Good talker.
Young.
Looks the part.
Pop-star girlfriend, Canadian Tate McRae.
Just went over 1 million followers on Instagram. (That matters a ton.)
Has two brothers, both in the NHL, one’s a teammate, the other’s a star and fellow gold medalist. They’re obviously dedicated to each other and to their parents. Mom and dad played. It’s the quintessential hockey family. America loves family.
Hughes is a good enough player. He’s got 36 points in 36 games this season with New Jersey. Forty-three goals and 99 points three seasons ago.
It’s a short jump from golden goal to golden goose.
The NHL should throw every ounce of its (admittedly meager) promotional might behind Hughes.
But the NHL will let it lapse. Hughes will do the talk-show rounds and endorsements, then fade back into being just another New Jersey Devil.
It will be felt that Hughes isn’t yet good enough.
That he didn’t earn it.
But being the face of hockey isn’t something you “earn.” It just happens, and it’s happening now.
It happened organically with Crosby, and when he was younger than Hughes. Alex Ovechkin tagged along as Crosby’s foil.
But the NHL just won’t. (The NHL really didn’t help Crosby. Still doesn’t. But Crosby was a runaway train, not just a moving one.)
The NHL doesn’t know how to create or promote stars. Doesn’t really want to. The NHL likes grit and toughness. That’s why it ranks seventh among North America’s four major sports leagues.
Incredibly, Hughes being American doesn’t help his cause.
The NHL is run by Canadians, for Canadians. Bullied by Canadians.
Hughes just beat Canada. The whining won’t die down for years. Right now, it’s deafening.
The opportunity is there. But it’s going to be wasted.
Connor McDavid has dropped the ball.
So has Nathan MacKinnon.
Great players. Big stats. But each had charisma bypass surgery, they play in non-major markets and they’re in the wrong time zone.
Hughes plays in Newark. Not exactly New York, but close enough.
But the Devils are a traditionally boring franchise, even when they win, and are that market’s B- or C-list team.
The Devils have never had a superstar forward and are underachieving this season.
But Hughes nonetheless became hockey’s heir apparent when his shot found the back of the net in overtime Sunday.
Apparent to me, anyway. But not to the right people. Because they’re the wrong people.
Hughes and the Devils visit PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night. Good tickets are still available. But perhaps not for long. If that game sells out, it will be because of Hughes.
