Jack Hughes Reflects on His Golden Goal One Month Later

NEWARK, NJ -- Jack Hughes estimates he has watched his overtime goal against Canada about 50 times, the one that secured Olympic gold for the U.S. men's hockey team for the first time since 1980. With each viewing, he notices new details of the play, accompanied by an underlying sense of anxiety. "I just get nervous watching it. Like, what if it doesn't go in this time?" he shared with ESPN last week while seated in a suite at Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils.

Each time, the puck sails past goalie Jordan Binnington and gets lodged near the in-net camera. Hughes only realized it was a goal when he saw his longtime friend Dylan Larkin sprinting towards him in celebration, marking a moment 46 years in the making since Team USA last won Olympic gold.

Among the flood of congratulatory messages Hughes received, one stood out as particularly surreal: actor Kurt Russell, who portrayed coaching legend Herb Brooks in the film "Miracle," congratulating the team on their historic achievement. "It changed all of our lives. We're champions. We're Olympic gold medalists. To break that streak and win a gold medal bonds us forever," Hughes said after returning from Milan. "It'll never be about one person. It's all about the USA Hockey brotherhood. We're just such a team."

Hughes has consistently tried to divert attention from his "golden goal" to his teammates. In his postgame interview following the victory over Canada, he praised the "ballsy, gutsy" performance of his teammates, particularly highlighting goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who made 41 saves and was, in Hughes' words, "our best player tonight by a mile."

"It'll never be about the 'golden goal.' It'll be about our three weeks at the Olympics, that we're champions, and what a special time it was," Hughes stated. However, since their return from Milan, the narrative has largely revolved around the "golden goal." This is reminiscent of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team, where goalie Jim Craig was praised for his defensive prowess, while Mike Eruzione became synonymous with the victory for scoring the decisive goal against Russia.

Interest in Jack Hughes has surged, with individuals outside the hockey community discussing his achievements. He has appeared on morning talk shows and late-night comedy programs, and his voice now carries more weight, whether discussing controversies from Team USA's celebrations or his wish to keep the "golden goal" puck rather than send it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. In the NHL, he has garnered cheers in venues where he was previously booed, evolving from a hockey star to a sports icon within a month.

A notable image captured by Elsa Garrison at the Olympics shows Jack Hughes wrapped in an American flag, fist raised in celebration, his smile revealing bloodied, broken teeth. This image has become an instant classic, even being worn as a T-shirt by ESPN's Pat McAfee. New York Yankees star Aaron Judge remarked that the photo circulated in the World Baseball Classic group chat, symbolizing American athletic excellence. "I don't even like that photo. I just look like an idiot with no teeth," Hughes remarked humorously. "But obviously, it's a really cool picture. I know it's gotten a lot of love."

The month following the "golden goal" has been eventful for Hughes. According to his agent Pat Brisson, no one on Team USA was better prepared or more enthusiastic about this moment than Hughes. "It couldn't have been a better person, in that sense. He's not just a hockey player. He's very smart, well-read. Hockey is his passion, but he also has many interests about the world, understanding different cultures and his generation," Brisson explained, having known Hughes since he was 10 years old. "So, when this moment happened -- I called it 'the tsunami' because no one expects it and then boom it hits -- Jack is equipped to handle it," he said.

Hughes' whirlwind of high-profile appearances following the "golden goal" illustrates his adaptability. Pat McAfee, a major fan of Team USA before becoming their benefactor, helped celebrate their return. The players kicked off their gold medal celebration in Miami with a red carpet entrance at E11EVEN, a popular nightlife spot known for hosting championship celebrations.

During the celebration, McAfee appeared in a video wearing an American flag tank top, announcing that the players' drinks were on him and "the rest of the United States of America." The champagne tab alone was reportedly $150,000. Hughes noted that McAfee had been in touch with the team throughout the Olympics to offer his support. "Then obviously after we won, he was probably on the FaceTime list for all the boys," Hughes said.

Hughes was also scheduled to appear on McAfee's ESPN afternoon show shortly after their return. The timing was convenient as the Devils were playing in Pittsburgh on February 26 and heading to St. Louis for a game on February 28, while the McAfee show was located at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. The candid half-hour conversation ranged from Hughes' missing teeth to the intense USA vs. Canada rivalry. At the end of the segment, McAfee surprised Hughes with a shooting challenge: if he could shoot a street-hockey ball into a large hole on a pillar, he would win $100,000 for a charity of his choice.

Hughes admitted that the challenge made him more nervous than his Olympic overtime goal. "That was the most nervous I'd been in the two weeks since the Olympics," he recalled. "We were just hanging out and then the next thing you know ... they never mentioned that to me, and then they're like, 'We're doing a $100,000 shot.'"

Although it was not as high-stakes as making an Olympic-winning shot, Hughes successfully sank the ball into the target, followed by a celebratory embrace with McAfee. One of the charities benefiting from Hughes' successful shot is the Gaudreau Family Foundation, which honors the legacies of the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.

As his brother Quinn Hughes, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild and another Team USA star, prepared for a "Saturday Night Live" appearance, Jack was busy playing for the Devils in St. Louis. He barely made it to the live show after a whirlwind of travel. Jack and his younger brother Luke Hughes, also a Devils player, received a police escort from the Enterprise Center to a small airfield where a private jet awaited them. Their flight landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, followed by a helicopter ride across the river to Manhattan, and a swift car ride with another police escort to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, arriving at SNL studios with less than an hour before the show went live.