Jack Hughes already had a full plate coming into this season.
First overall pick, tons of hype, potential face of the New Jersey Devils for the next decade or more.
Things, however, haven’t quite gone according to plan.
The 18-year-old went six games without a point to open his rookie campaign and has struggled to find the scoresheet ever since for a team that’s been stuck in neutral most of 2019-20.
With the franchise flailing near the bottom of the overall standings, New Jersey fired head coach John Hynes in early December, traded its best player in Taylor Hall just 13 days later, and then axed general manager Ray Shero on Sunday night.
That’s quite a six-week stretch for any professional athlete, let alone one trying to handle the weight of expectation from both the outside and within.
“It is what it is,” Hughes said Tuesday as he tried to brush off the roller-coaster campaign. “It’s a business — coach gets fired, GM gets fired, a lot of changes.”
The youngest player in the NHL this season, Hughes has been used to putting up mammoth point totals at every other level. He’s not the first young star to struggle early, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
“That’s obviously my game. I’m supposed to get points,” said Hughes, tied for 10th in rookie scoring with six goals and 17 points in 38 games heading into Wednesday. “With where my game’s at, the points haven’t translated, (but I’m) creating a lot.
“There’s a lot of season left.”
Despite the rocky journey up to now, teammates have been impressed with how he’s dealt with everything since June’s draft.
“It’s amazing, at 18, how demanding he is of himself,” said veteran goalie Cory Schneider, who had Hughes living with him and his family this fall. “When you’re accustomed to scoring three, four points a game your whole life and you come to the best league in the world, it just doesn’t happen that way.”
“He’s handled it really well, just trying to work on other areas of his game and understanding the best players in the world are a point-per-game,” Schneider added. “There’s been some tumultuous moments for him. Losing a coach, losing a GM — the guy that drafted you, the guy that got to know your family.
“That’s a lot … this is my first in-season GM change and I’m 13 years pro and he’s dealing with as an 18 year old.”
It seems Shero’s firing, which came out of the blue to those outside the organization, was the most difficult blow.
“It’s tough,” Hughes said. “He’s a guy that brought me in. I have a lot of respect for Ray and think he’s a great manager.
“It’s how it goes.”
Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine said he’s seen improvement in his young star’s details since moving behind the bench.
“It’s not easy to be in his shoes,” Nasreddine said. “You can see him getting more comfortable with the league. The experience really helps. The more games he plays, the more he realizes what he can and can’t do on the ice.”
A native of Orlando, Fla., and phenom with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Hughes spent most of his formative years living just outside Toronto when his father, Jim, was part of the Maple Leafs’ front office.
He played at Scotiabank Arena for the first time Tuesday — Hughes was held pointless in a 7-4 loss to the Leafs — but the memories flowed back from his time wandering the halls as a kid.
“I came to so many games over the years,” he said. “Definitely a game I had circled on my calendar.”
Hughes is also proud of older brother Quinn, a 20-year-old rookie defenceman with the Vancouver Canucks set to compete in the NHL all-star game in St. Louis.
“People in Vancouver were praising him before the season,” Jack said of Quinn, who has four goals and 32 assist 46 games. “We were like, ‘Whoa … this is trouble, a lot of expectations.’ But we knew what he was going to be, he knew what he was going to be.
“It’s not surprising to any of us.”
And maybe, when everyone takes a step back, Jack’s early struggles shouldn’t be either.
“I’m happy to be in the NHL right now,” Hughes said. “I’m living out my dream.”
MORE OVERTIME A POSSIBILITY?
Schneider said that while he isn’t a fan of shootouts, he isn’t sure extending 3-on-3 overtime beyond five minutes — which has gained some traction in recent weeks — is the right move either. “You’ve got to end the games, but 10 (minutes of OT is) a lot. You see teams now that have already played 10, 15 overtime games. Your top players are the guys playing most of those minutes.” A member of the NHL’s competition committee, Schneider added there could be “wiggle room” where the extra period might one day be seven minutes in length. “Playing another half period of 3-on-3, that’s one-sixth of the game. That’s a lot more hockey that adds up over the course of the year.”
COACHING CAROUSEL CONTINUES
When the Vegas Golden Knights stunned the hockey world Wednesday with the firing of head coach Gerard Gallant, it marked the seventh change behind an NHL bench since the Leafs fired Mike Babcock on Nov. 20. Add Shero’s dismissal, and that’s eight key positions vacated in less than two months. Some moves weren’t related to on-ice performance — Calgary’s parting of ways with Bill Peters and Dallas canning Jim Montgomery were the outliers — but most were. In all, there have been 14 coaching changes in the 31-team league since the end of last season
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan 15, 2020.
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Joshua Clipperton’s weekly NHL notebook is published every Wednesday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
