Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes were named the cover athletes for EA Sports' NHL 25. The two Devils players praised their new coach and his work with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Luke Hughes and Jack HughesJack and Luke Hughes may not have had a chance to sit down and talk with Sheldon Keefe since the latter was hired as the new coach of the New Jersey Devils. But it’s fair to say that the Hughes brothers were on board with the decision.
After all, Keefe had been coaching one of their favorite teams.
“When Sheldon got hired, me and Jack were both excited,” said Luke Hughes, who, along with Jack and older brother Quinn, were named as the cover athletes for the new EA Sports NHL 25 video game. “Toronto, other than Vancouver, was the team we really liked to watch this season.”
Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and Luke Hughes posing as cover athletes for NHL 25.That the two brothers watch the Leafs should come as no surprise.
For one, they grew up in Toronto. In fact, their father was a former development coach of the Leafs and at one time acted as a billet family to a young William Nylander. But their passion for the Leafs runs deeper than that.
The reason Jack, Luke — and even Quinn — enjoy watching the Leafs is the same reason you might choose the Leafs when playing NHL 25: they are a fun, offensive-minded team.
“I think we really liked — or I really like — their style of play," said Luke Hughes, "and how they play with the puck and how they possess the puck."
Led by a core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, the Leafs are built around their highly paid superstars. And under Keefe, the Leafs put the controller in the players' hands.
While that might not have led to a whole lot of playoff success, it has resulted in eight straight playoff appearances and individual accolades. Matthews is coming off a season where he led the NHL with 69 goals and scored a career-high 107 points. Nylander, meanwhile, scored 40 goals for the second straight year.
Under Keefe, the $40-million-four are among the highest-paid players in the sport.
“Just watching Sheldon deal with Nylander, Matthews and Marner, you know he obviously did a great job in Toronto over the five years,” said Jack Hughes. “So we’re lucky he sees a vision with us, and we’re confident in him, and hopefully, it’s going to be a great relationship between our team and him. I think we’re really excited for him.
"On a personal level, I’m really excited to get to New Jersey and pick his brain a little bit and think some things out."
There is a lot to go over after how last season ended.
The Devils, who may have been guilty of overachieving in 2022-23 by not only making the playoffs but also knocking out the top-seeded New York Rangers in the first round, ended up taking a step backward and missed the post-season altogether last season.
It was a disappointing finish. It led to Lindy Ruff being replaced with Travis Green (Ruff is now back coaching the Buffalo Sabres, while Green was hired by the Ottawa Senators). Along with the coaching change, the Devils have been busy this summer, signing top free-agent goalie Jacob Markstrom and top-four defenseman Brett Pesce.
“I think it’s a fresh start for a lot of guys and a fresh start for our team after a frustrating year," said Jack Hughes. "It’s definitely going to be really exciting with him."