Former NHL player Mike Rupp made a big claim about superstar center Jack Hughes on Wednesday.

On the NHL Network’s Top 20 Centers Right Now show, Rupp had high praise for Hughes, the New Jersey Devils pivot who was ranked 11th.

"He elevates. He's got jam. I like that in him," Rupp said. "He's not a big guy. He's that fierce competitor, super skilled. Injuries have been something. The 4 Nations was a little bumpy, I thought for him, but I think he has the potential to be north of seven for me on this list. We just got to see him healthy."

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Matthews was ranked seventh. And on Rupp's own top centers list, he had Hughes at No. 8 and Matthews at No. 9.

"I still think Auston needs to have his moment, and that doesn't mean that Jack Hughes has had his moment," Rupp said. " A healthy Jack Hughes, I would take him over Auston Matthews," Rupp said.

Now, Rupp later said on X that if we're talking about the Auston Matthews who scored 69 goals in a season, it's a different story.

No matter what, Matthews should be the choice over Hughes.

Hughes is a terrific talent. Clearly, when he’s healthy, the Devils star is one of the most brilliant players in the world. However, picking Hughes over Matthews is not the choice we’d make.

For one thing, the 27-year-old Matthews has achieved things Hughes has not, even if he's had more time to do so. Matthews won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, a Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie and a three-time Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy as the best goal-scorer in the game.

The 24-year-old Hughes, on the other hand, has no individual NHL awards to his name. Matthews has been in the NHL for three more years than Hughes, but the latter just hasn't asserted himself as a cream-of-the-crop, dominant force to the degree Matthews has when he's fully healthy.

But it’s not only Matthews’ individual honors that make him the right pick in this debate. Matthews has also achieved more in a team sense than Hughes has.

In all of his nine NHL seasons, Matthews has led his Leafs team to a Stanley Cup playoff appearance, and he’s even won a couple of rounds to boost his playoff experience to 68 games. He has 59 points in the post-season as well.

Hughes, on the other hand, has been in the playoffs just once, in the 2022-23 campaign, when he had 11 points in 12 games. He missed this last post-season due to injury, and the Devils missed the playoffs in the four other campaigns with Hughes.

Of course, in a team game, it’s not fair to pin the blame on one player for his team’s lack of playoff success. But the truth is that Matthews has done more in the playoffs, and that’s indisputable.

Even when comparing the first six seasons for both players, Matthews had higher goal-scoring and points-per-game rates than Hughes.

Matthews averaged 0.64 goals per game and 1.12 points per game compared to Hughes' 0.38 and 0.95 rates. Hughes does have the advantage in assists, at 0.57 helpers per game compared to Matthews' 0.49, but that doesn't do enough to close the gap. If we include just Hughes' 99-point campaign onward, Matthews still has those edges.

And last season, Matthews averaged 1.16 points per game, while Hughes was at 1.13. So even right now, the Leafs leader has had better results.

Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Provides Health Update Before New Season BRAMPTON, Ont. — So, what’s the deal with Auston Matthews' scoring and his health heading into the new season? It’s the question on every Maple Leafs fan’s mind. When asked point-blank about his health, Matthews just smiled and said he felt "good".

That said, looking at the full picture would have to include injury history, because Rupp noted in the show that Matthews has a word-class shot but has been dinged up in recent years.

Matthews and Hughes have had a hard time staying healthy, but even then, Matthews has been healthier than Hughes. Hughes has only played more than 62 games in a single season just once, when he appeared in 78 games in 2022-23. Matthews, meanwhile, has played one 81-game season for the Leafs, but he’s also played at least 70 games in four seasons, and he’s played at least 62 games in all but one season.

There may yet come a season where Hughes puts it all together and gets to the level where Matthews has been thus far in his career. But as it stands, Matthews’ competitive ceiling has been considerably higher than Hughes’, and that’s why we disagree with Rupp in this debate. 

Matthews and Hughes are both dynamic players, but Matthews has dominated in a way Hughes hasn't. When he’s at his peak, Matthews is the best goal-scorer in hockey, which Rupp said himself on the show.

Even in a down year like he had this past season, the Leafs superstar was still a difference-maker and a needle-mover, coming within one assist of equaling his career-high 46. Matthews has also surpassed the 100-point mark in two seasons, while Hughes has a career high of 99 points, and he’s got to that plateau just once.

Hughes still has plenty of time to raise his game and stay healthy for an extended period, but until we see him do so, we have to stick with Matthews as the better center and the better performer. This discussion is a fun one, but the winner in this debate is clearly Matthews.

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