Hughes focused on 'expanding my game' to become more valuable to Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes had a season to remember for the New Jersey Devils last season. Now he wants more.

To get there, the 22-year-old center spent much of the offseason perfecting ways to use his lethal one-timer to score in different ways.

"Everyone thinks of the one-timer like (Alex) Ovechkin on the dot, but I think there's a lot of different aspects, whether it's 2-on-1s, pucks in the corner, coming down through the slot, or one-timers on your off side, too," Hughes told NHL.com. "For me, I had a really good year of scoring last year and now it's more, how do I find different ways to score and continue to score?

"For me, getting the puck off my stick as fast as possible is a great way to do it, obviously just expanding my game and expanding my shot."

Hughes set Devils single-season records with 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) and 34 even-strength goals in 78 games last season. He scored an NHL career-high nine power-play goals, which also led the Devils, and six game-winning goals, and was fifth in the NHL with 336 shots on goal.

He had four points (two goals, two assists) against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 6 that gave him 200 points, in his 241st NHL game, passing Kirk Muller (242 games) for the fewest needed to reach that milestone in franchise history.

Hughes was most proud of the 43 goals he scored. The last time he had that many was when he scored 58 in 80 games as a 15-year-old in 2016-17 with Toronto of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

A more potent one-timer only can help him score more and improve a New Jersey power play that was 13th in the NHL last season (21.9 percent).

"Jack knows exactly what he needs to work on, and he worked on his one-timer," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "All I heard from our skill development coaches was, 'You've got to see this one-timer and the way it comes off that stick.' But he worked at it."

It's obvious Hughes has refused to rest on his laurels even after his record-setting season.

"It was just another summer of trying to get better, working on my physical aspects and trying to get bigger, stronger, faster," he said. "Not bigger, like bulky, but [stronger], and feeling good heading into the year. I feel like I'm in a good spot, and mentally I'm really excited to get going."

In addition to his offensive exploits, Hughes was able to showcase another side of his game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season that certainly caught the attention of his teammates.

"What I saw that really impressed me was the way he competes, and you saw that in the playoffs," forward Timo Meier said. "He's a smaller guy (5-foot-11, 175 pounds), not the most physical, but he competes on every puck. He goes in on 50/50 pucks, so I think that's what you want to see out of a guy like that. It sets the tone for everybody else. If a guy like that competes that hard, it should motivate everybody else to compete and kind of give it all you got."

Forward Tyler Toffoli, who was acquired by the Devils in a trade with the Calgary Flames on June 27, already has high praise for Hughes.

"He's definitely one of the most skilled, if not the most skilled guy, I've ever played with, and I'd like to say I've played with some pretty good players throughout my career," said Toffoli, who is entering his 12th NHL season. "Some of the stuff he does on the ice is impressive and the way he competes and demands the puck, it's pretty special."

Hughes is healed from an upper-body injury that almost kept him out of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils, who defeated the New York Rangers in seven games in the first round, lost 3-2 in overtime and the series in five games.

Why did he decide to play despite not feeling 100 percent?

"I'm a competitive guy and when you're in the locker room with the guys, you're looking at them eye to eye and it's hard to just give in," Hughes said. "Even now, looking back, if I didn't play, I'd be like, 'I probably wish I could have gone back.' It's just the person I am, and for the boys inside the room. That's all it really was. Just being out there for my teammates and competing just like all of them were doing.

"I've always been the kind that works hard and plays through things and with all the skill and whatnot, my best quality has always been my competitiveness."

Hughes led the Devils in goals (six), points (11), even-strength goals (five) and shots on goal (45) in 12 playoff games.

One other area he's focused on improving is his face-off percentage. He won 35.3 percent last season, last among the 134 players to take at least 450 face-offs last season.

"I'll never be like a Nico Hischier (fifth in the NHL, 53.9 percent) or someone like that when it comes to face-offs, but I do want to gain a little more trust with the coaching staff and my teammates that they can put me out there in the third period, for a defensive zone face-off," Hughes said. "I am one of the top players on the team, so for them to not feel confident in putting me out for a face-off when they can put me out there in every other aspect of the game, is on me for sure. That's something I have to work on and something I'd like to hone in."

The determination to improve and do even more in his fifth NHL season is just one reason why Hughes has earned his spot among the most electrifying forwards in the NHL.

Photos: Andrew Maclean, New Jersey Devils