New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes was not in the mood for jokes during the team’s season opener on Thursday, October 1.
Hughes, 25, granted an interview to ESPN reporter A.J. Mleczko after the first period, during which she referenced his bizarre injury last season, when he was forced to miss 18 games for reportedly slicing open his hand with a knife during a team dinner.
“It’s great to see you healthy,” Mleczko, 51, said. “Wrap you in bubble wrap and use plastic cutlery this year? Does that sound good?”
A stone-faced Hughes responded, “I mean, I think that’s a weird joke. Big game.”
“Well, no sense of humor here in a big game,” Mleczko said as Hughes skated away. “But I appreciate his time.”
The Devils went on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime, 3-2, with Hughes scoring the game-winner.
Hughes’ reaction to Mleczko’s comment did not sit right with some viewers at home, who compared it to the hockey star laughing when President Donald Trump said he would “probably be impeached” if he didn’t also invite the Team USA women’s hockey team to the White House. (Both the men’s and women’s teams won gold at the 2026 Olympics.)
“Fully leaning over the table laughing at the women’s team joke but you couldn’t take a little jab at your stupid injury?” one person shared via X. “Jack hughes you are so boring.”
Another person wrote, “Jack hughes being a baby talking about ‘thats weird joke to make’ hey dude remember when you laughed at the possibility of the gold winning usa womens hockey team going to the white house. GROW UP DUDE.”
After the Team USA men’s hockey team defeated Canada to win gold at the 2026 Olympics, where Hughes scored the game-winning goal in overtime, Trump, 80, infamously said during their White House visit in February, “We have medals for you guys. I must tell you, we‘re going to have to bring the women’s team.”
In videos that circulated on social media, Hughes could be seen laughing at Trump’s remarks. As controversy stirred, Hughes did his best to explain the moment.
“You’re in the moment, the president calls,” Hughes told reporters after returning from the Olympics. “We’re blaring the music and then they pause the music and then the president calls. I don’t think … obviously, it is what it is now.”
He added, “We have so much respect for the women’s team. They have so much respect for us. We’re all just proud Americans. We’re happy that we both swept the Olympics.”
Hughes urged critics of Team USA’s behavior to remember “we’re just hockey players.”
“We did our job,” he said. “We went over to the Olympics to win a gold medal, and that’s what we did. I’ve had the best time of my life celebrating with my teammates that we accomplished our goal.”
He continued, “I’m a hockey player. We’re so proud to be back in the U.S. and celebrating our gold medal, and to do it with our teammates, that’s the best part.”
