New Jersey Devils need to put Jack Hughes back at center
The Jack Hughes at wing experiment has been a massive failure for the New Jersey Devils.
Jack Hughes hasn’t had the kind of rookie season people were expecting. He was expected to be a Calder Trophy candidate after dominating in his draft year. However, Hughes hasn’t been that impressive. To try to give him a spark, the New Jersey Devils have been using him as a wing recently.
In a vacuum, that wasn’t an awful idea. Wings have less defensive responsibilities, after all, and Hughes has struggled defensively. However, moving Hughes to wing hasn’t worked for anyone, especially not Hughes.
The Devils moved Hughes to wing on Feb. 18 against the St. Louis Blues. Initially, it made sense since they had Nico Hischier, Travis Zajac, and Pavel Zacha down the middle. Also, Hughes was playing with Hischier, so moving him to the wing gave him the chance to play with better linemates.
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However, it clearly hasn’t been working. Hughes has zero points at 5v5 since becoming a wing. It hasn’t provided the spark the Devils were hoping. Also, Hughes hasn’t been playing well since being a wing. And neither has Nico Hischier.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the reasons they moved Hughes was because of their center depth. However, he’s far more important to the Devils future than Zacha and Zajac. If one of those players has to become a wing or take less playing time, so be it.
The Devils need Hughes to develop properly and that’s not going to happen without affording him opportunities to learn and make mistakes. Moving him to the wing wasn’t an awful idea, but keeping him there isn’t helping anyone.
Hughes is the kind of player who needs to be a center. He’s at his best when he gets a lot of touches and when he can confidently possess the puck through the neutral zone. Hughes has been getting fewer touches as a wing and he hasn’t possessed the puck nearly as much. His production and his underlying stats have both declined since becoming a wing.
As A Center
- 5v5 points per hour: 1.15
- 5v5 shots on goal per hour: 7.53
- 5v5 CorsiFor percentage: 47.30%
As A Wing
- 5v5 points per hour: 0.00 (yes, you read that right)
- 5v5 shots on goal per hour: 5.12
- 5v5 CorsiFor percentage: 39.29%
Stats are via NaturalStatTrick
It’s baffling to see the Devils continue to trot Hughes out as a wing when it’s painfully obvious it’s not working for him. Right now, winning should be secondary for the Devils. The development of Hughes (and their other young players) is all that matters right now. I don’t see how keeping Hughes as a wing is helping him.
If anything, it’s hurting him. Right now is the perfect time to let Hughes work through his struggles as a center. Sure, he hasn’t been good defensively. However, the Devils could easily shelter Hughes with offensive zone starts and let him build some confidence so he can end his pedestrian rookie season on a good note.
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Though the Devils are somehow winning with Alain Nasreddine as their head coach, that’s mostly due to MacKenzie Blackwood putting him outstanding numbers. The way he has used Hughes and the New Jersey Devils other young players is proof that he is not the right coach for the team. Frankly, Nasreddine should be disqualified from being the Devils full-time head coach, if for no other reason than he’s letting Hughes fail repeatedly at a position he shouldn’t be playing.