In their first game back from the Olympic break, the Devils honored USA gold medal hero Jack Hughes prior to losing to the Sabres 2-1 on Wednesday night in Newark.

They recognized all seven players who represented their countries in Milano Cortina. It was the right way to welcome them back from a long two weeks spent at the Winter Games. That included Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler, Jesper Bratt, Jacob Markstrom, and Simon Nemec.

In a special moment, Devils public address announcer Adam Hamway introduced Hughes to the capacity crowd, who chanted “USA, USA, USA!”, as he made his way to center ice. In a cool moment, Hughes included USA teammate Tage Thompson with him. Something the Sabres star appreciated afterward.

After Thompson went back to the bench, Hughes spoke to the fans about how much their support meant.

“I’m so proud that the men’s & women’s USA hockey teams brought gold medals back to the United States of America.”

“From the bottom of my heart, all my teammates, USA teammates. We just want to thank you guys for all the love and the support.”

There were plenty of cheers from an appreciative crowd who understood what Hughes had accomplished in scoring the golden goal in a thrilling 2-1 overtime win to deliver Team USA’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s ice hockey since 1980. He shined the brightest on the big stage with his four goals leading the team.

Already a great player who’s averaged over a point-per-game since 2021-22, the 24-year-old American’s legacy is set. He’ll go down in history forever like Mike Eruzione 46 years ago.

However, Hughes is far from done. A superb skater who can score and set up teammates, he hasn’t even reached his prime. Having had setbacks that limited his availability, he has put up 135 goals and  201 assists for a total of 336 points in his last 288 games, which dates back to his third season.

When fully healthy, Hughes has proven that he’s an explosive scorer. At just 21, he put up a career-high 43 goals with 56 assists for 99 points to break the single season Devils’ franchise record held by Patrik Elias (40-56-96) in 2000-01.

The 2019 first overall pick has handled himself extremely well in the face of unwarranted criticism for Team USA laughing at a joke President Trump made that referenced inviting the women’s hockey team to the White House. Unfortunately, there are many who don’t understand how close the teams are. Everything that’s been said by the players since has been complementary and respectful.

The class and maturity Hughes has shown is in stark contrast to what exists in Washington, DC. It’s a friendly reminder that we can be good to each other. Regardless of having different views, there should be more common sense and respect shown.

A lot can be learned from how the players speak. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t more civil conversations between both sides, which influence negative behavior in the press and online.

At the end of the day, Hughes is a winner. Even on a night that he couldn’t make up for a turnover that led to the winner scored by Peyton Krebs, the Devils forward will continue to learn from his experiences. How he performed won’t soon be forgotten.