New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes became an American icon when he scored the game-winning overtime goal against Canada to claim gold for Team USA at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. It marked the first time the U.S. men’s hockey team has won Olympic gold since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980.
In the process, Hughes lost a few teeth, and he lost track of the game-winning puck.
That puck, along with the puck scored by Team USA’s Megan Keller to win the women’s hockey team gold medal, went to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto after the 2026 Winter Games closed on Feb. 22.
“I’m trying to get it,” Hughes told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Tuesday. “Like, that’s [expletive] that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck? I don’t see why Megan Keller or I shouldn’t have those pucks.”
Hughes added that he “wouldn’t even want it for myself,” but rather wanted it for his father, Jim Hughes.
“When I look back in time in my career, I don’t collect too many things for myself, but my dad’s a monster collector for the three of us,” Hughes said, referencing his brothers, Quinn and Luke, who also play in the NHL. “I know he would have a special place for it
The Hockey Hall of Fame will not be adding to Jim Hughes’ collection.
On Wednesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame confirmed to Wyshynski that it will not give Hughes his “golden goal” puck.
“Unfortunately, in the easiest words, it was never Jack’s puck to own,” said Philip Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s curator and vice president of the resource center. “It’s been donated to us now. For every artifact that’s been donated, we have a paper trail and signed paperwork of where it’s come from.”
Pritchard added, “Part of being a nonprofit registered charity in Canada is it becomes kind of a legal document that we’ve received it as a donation. We’ve insured it, we’ve preserved it, we conserved everything. It becomes part of our institution.”
The “Olympics ’26” exhibit is currently on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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