Hughes should seek a good dentist after winning gold medal at Olympics

Team USA's Jack Hughes (center). Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Team USA's Jack Hughes should seek a good dentist after winning gold medal at Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Feb 23, 2026 9:46 AM ET

Perhaps Team USA center Jack Hughes should get a golden dental implant after the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

The New Jersey Devils star will certainly need dental work after he lost one of his front chompers in the gold-medal game against Team Canada on Sunday.

How Jack Hughes lost his tooth

Hughes was spitting Chiclets after he took a high stick from Canadian center Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers) during the third period. The image of his busted mouth quickly went viral on social media.

"I looked on the ice and saw my teeth," said Hughes, who has lost teeth playing hockey before, via Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press. "I was like, 'Here we go again.'"

Jack Hughes is an Olympic gold medalist. #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/43VCWKdUat
— NHL (@NHL) February 22, 2026

Hughes' mouth wasn't pretty. His overtime winner, however, was a beauty.

Hughes sealed the 2-1 win for the Americans on an assist from defenseman Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) 1:41 into overtime. With the win over Canada, the United States has now secured its first gold medal in men's hockey since the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid in 1980.

In an interview with NBC after the game, Hughes kept smiling despite the missing teeth. It clearly didn't matter to the 24-year-old, who would have given even more to deliver America a gold medal.

JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA'S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com/4foFDOri53
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026

"This is all about our country right now," Hughes said. "I love the USA. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable. The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong, and we had so much support from ex-players. I'm so proud to be an American today."

Hughes will now return to the United States, where he'll aim to help salvage the Devils' season. New Jersey was 28-27-2 before the start of the Olympics and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. Left winger Matt Boldy, who scored Team USA's other goal Sunday, isn't concerned about American fans poking fun at Hughes for his teeth.

"Who cares at this point, to be honest?" the Minnesota Wild star said, per Fendrich. "I think more people are looking at his medal than his teeth. I'm sure he'll be OK."

Many Americans will appreciate Hughes fighting tooth and nail for that long-awaited gold medal.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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