Jack Hughes had received a hero’s welcome in his Devils homecoming and was seemingly taking his first breath in the past four days as he sat down in front of the home media for the first time since the Olympic break on Wednesday night.
“It’s been obviously some of the best three days of my life, probably,” Hughes said following the Devils’ 2-1 loss to the Sabres at Prudential Center in the team’s first game back since the Olympic break. “I’ve had so much fun with this group of guys. I’m sure everyone on this team wishes it was still going, but nice to get back into a routine and back with my teammates here.”
He has been elated ever since, taking champagne-heavy celebrations from the Olympic Village all the way back to Miami. Hughes and his teammates also made a stop in Washington after receiving an invitation from President Donald Trump to visit the White House and attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
And it continued for his Devils homecoming.
The New Jersey fans couldn’t wait to welcome Hughe home and they dressed the part too, sporting USA jerseys and holding homemade USA signs and American flags. The Devils placed a signed card on each seat, picturing Hughes holding the American flag that read “Made in Jersey.”
Hughes was greeted with a rowdy “U-S-A” chant and a standing ovation as he did a lap around the ice. He made sure to grab Team USA teammate Tage Thompson, who scored the Sabres’ first goal, for a lap before making a brief but emotional speech.
Jack Hughes takes the ice during warmups before the Devils’ 2-1 loss to the Sabres on Feb. 25, 2026 at Prudential Center. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“It’ll never be about one person. It’s always about the team and that group of guys,” Hughes said. “To share that moment with Tage, I hope that when he gets his first game in Buffalo, they do something for him and I hope he’s playing one of his American teammates and he can do the same thing.”
“For me it will never be about the golden goal. It will always be about our three weeks at the Olympics, and just what a special group it was,” he added.
Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is greeted by fans as he walks out on the ice during warmups. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Hughes became choked up during his speech, capping off his celebration tour with an emotional homecoming.
All of the Olympic festivities were noticeably still catching up to him, but those are moments the American star certainly wouldn’t trade.
Fans cheer as Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is on the ice during warmups. Robert Sabo for NY Post
It all sparked from the third period of the gold medal match when Hughes took a stick to the face, knocking out several front teeth — which he clarified Wednesday that the amount of teeth or partial teeth lost is still to be determined.
Yet, he got the better half of the deal in scoring the go-ahead goal, ripping a wrist shot between Jordan Binnington’s legs that gifted Team USA its first Olympic gold since 1980.
Jack Hughes celebrates after the United States’ 2-1 overtime gold-medal win over Canada on Day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on Feb. 22, 2026. Getty Images
The moment, which the Devils replayed in a pregame ceremony, still gives Hughes “goosebumps.”
“The emotion is so raw and it means so much to every single one of those guys,” he added. “We’re all genuinely so happy for each other that we won. I just remember the goalie shot out at me hard, so I couldn’t see really the puck go in. … So I just turned the corner and saw Dylan Larkin — the first guy I saw — just sprinting up the ice. And I just, I just couldn’t believe it. I was so proud of our group.”
Fans cheer as Jack Hughes of the Devils is on the ice during warmups. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Hughes admitted a lot of “cool” people have reached out to him since his career-defining moment, but he feels the bond with his teammates has most changed him.
“It changes all of our lives, all of our teammates,” he said. “We are champions and Olympic gold medalists. We are the team that broke the run of not being able to win. To break that streak and win that gold medal, it bonds us forever.”
