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Jack Hughes Walks Back Demand for Gold Medal Goal Puck

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Jackson Weber | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 2:12 PM ET

Jack Hughes made headlines earlier this week when he learned that the Hockey Hall of Fame had the puck from his gold medal-winning goal that secured an Olympic victory for Team USA—their first since the Miracle on Ice back in 1980.

The New Jersey Devils superstar wasn’t too happy about it, saying, “I’m trying to get [the puck]. Like, that’s (expletive) that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?”

As you can imagine, those comments blew up across the hockey world, and on Wednesday, after a 6-3 win over the Rangers in New York, Hughes was asked about it and backpedaled on his earlier stance that the Hall of Fame shouldn’t have the puck.

Hughes said:

“No, I mean, listen, obviously honored that the puck’s there—it’s like the most special place in hockey, so yeah, I’m honored that it’s there. But obviously I think things were taken crazy… that’s just the way I felt, and I didn’t know where the puck was, so it is what it is,”

Hughes had a fantastic tournament, tallying seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games, capping it off by sliding the gold medal-winning overtime goal through Jordan Binnington’s five-hole to beat the rival Canadians.

The Hockey Hall of Fame quickly declined Hughes’ request to have the puck after his comments, saying that it was never his to own in the first place.

Hughes may have also been influenced by the response of Sidney Crosby—2010 golden goal scorer—who brushed off the idea that he ever cared who had the puck. Crosby said, “I didn’t even think about it that way, to be honest with you. I was just happy that I scored the goal. I was happy that the puck was going to the Hall of Fame.”

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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