James Nichols
NEWARK—Sidney Crosby sat in his stall after Pittsburgh Penguins morning skate, hair salt & pepper. If you can believe it, “The Kid” is already near the tail-end of his career. Although, if you ask him, he might tell you he’s not even thinking about retirement at 37 years old. Crosby has been there and done that, so what does he think of Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils?
The Penguins are going well lately, and that has a lot to do with their captain. Crosby has eight points in his last five games, and although he just broke his 10-game goalless streak one game ago, he was still contributing with helpers and in the other two zones of the ice.
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The Penguins appear to be a bubble team who may or may not miss the playoffs.
Yet, the Devils are firmly planted in playoff position, and barring some catastrophe, will finish near the top of the Metropolitan Division, if they don’t take the title.
So what does one of the NHLs greatest to ever do it think about the likes of Jack Hughes as a rising superstar in the NHL, and the Devils’ ability to claim a championship?
Jack Hughes established his superstar status following a breakout 2022-23 season in which he led the Devils’ back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four seasons by scoring 99 points. Hughes captured the Devils’ franchise record for most points in a single season.
He’s well on his way to another point per-game season, and could match his previous career high, as he’s on pace for 98.5 points in 82 games.
Crosby knows a thing or two about scoring nearly 100 points in a season. The Penguins’ captain has six seasons under his belt scoring 100-plus points, and likely would have had more had injuries not shelved him in a few instances along the way.
Hughes is similar in that he’s suffered some injuries and has had near 100-point seasons, and likely would have reached triple digits in 2023-24 before a shoulder injury changed the trajectory of his whole season.
However, now with a new shoulder and clean bill of health, Hughes’ stock continues to rise almost nightly. Just two days ago, the Devils’ superstar totaled 13 shots against the Columbus Blue Jackets, more than anyone in a single game this year.
That’s the kind of thing only the stars in the NHL can do.
So what does Crosby think of the Hughes?
“I think he’s got everything. I mean, he’s super poised with the puck. He’s got great speed, can set up other guys,” Crosby explained to New Jersey Hockey Now. “So I think he’s just, he’s dangerous in a lot of different ways. But I think just being able to possess the puck and hold onto it the way he does is probably his best strength.”
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Pittsburgh is going to have to defend in numbers against a guy like Hughes and the Devils.
Sullivan will have Hughes on his 4 Nations Face-Off roster in February when the Devils forward plays for him and Team USA.
He didn’t bite on whether he sees a championship roster in the Devils, however, deferring to the game ahead on Saturday night.
“I see a real a good hockey team that we got a big challenge against tonight,” Sullivan said to NJHN.
However, Crosby—who has captured three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh—explained he sees all the pieces in New Jersey.
“We haven’t played them yet [this season], to be honest with you,” Crosby started. “But, I think that if you look at a lot of teams on paper, there are a lot of teams that are in that conversation, so to speak. I think they would definitely be one of them. If you look at goaltending and their depth, you know, on [defense] and at forward, it’s certainly there. So it’s a close league. There’s not much separating one team from the other. But, I would say that if you’re looking at favorites or teams that are ranked highly, I mean, they’d be up there.”
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