New Jersey Devils superstar Jack Hughes is once again having a tremendous season. The dynamic offensive talent, along with Jesper Bratt, are both on pace to threaten a team record by breaking the 100-point plateau by season’s end. Offensive successes aside, the underrated aspect of Hughes’ 2024-25 season, thus far, is how far along he has come defensively.

His defensive game has not only made unbelievable strides over one season, but it has been so strong, consideration for a Selke Trophy at year’s end should not be out of the question. Just how good has Hughes been in his own end?

The Statistics

One of the best ways to measure defensive play is through analytics and on-ice impacts. According to Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement (GAR) statistics, Hughes’ on-ice defensive metrics rank in the league’s 90th percentile. This percentile is made up of several factors, but mainly expected and actual GAR numbers. Specifically, his actual GAR defensive figure ranks 88th among 467 forwards, but, more impressively, his expected GAR (xGAR) defensive figure ranks 16th among 467 forwards.

If GAR metrics are not for you, Hughes also grades out terrifically defensive through more traditional statistics. At all strengths, here is how Hughes ranks among 12 Devils forwards who have played at least 25 games:

• Shots against (SA/60): 3rd
• Goals against (GA/60): 3rd
• Shot attempts (CA/60): 3rd
• Expected goals against (xGA/60): 3rd
• Scoring chances against (SCA/60): 2nd
• High-danger chances against (HDCA/60): 3rd

Note, all are per 60 minutes.

The Devils, rightfully, are regarded as one of the, if not, the top defensive club in the league. Especially after setting a NHL record in allowing 20 or fewer shots in seven-straight games. To further push home the point as Hughes being arguably the Devils’ top defensive forward this year is one again the GAR and xGAR defensive analytics. The aforementioned league-wide rankings explained above place Hughes tops on the Devils in defensive xGAR (3.2 compared to Dawson Mercer‘s 2.0, which ranks second) and fifth on the team in actual defensive GAR among Devils forwards.

To put a bow on the more traditional numbers, here is Hughes’ percentile ranking among 393 forwards league-wide to play at least 200 minutes of ice time at all strengths:

• Shots against (SA/60): 93rd percentile
• Goals against (GA/60): 91st percentile
• Shot attempts (CA/60): 90th percentile
• Expected goals against (xGA/60): 87th percentile
• Scoring chances against (SCA/60): 93rd percentile
• High-danger chances against (HDCA/60): 83rd percentile

Note, all are per 60 minutes.

All the numbers are straightforward. Anyway you slice it, Jack Hughes has been one of the better defensive forwards in the league. This has even been recognized internally as Hughes is now getting time on the penalty kill. He is doing all this while playing the 19th-highest average ice time per night among forwards and contributing offensively at a close-to 100-point clip.

Final Thoughts

Will Jack Hughes actually win the Selke Award? No probably not, especially given he isn’t even available to bet on to win the award on FanDuel Sportsbook. Additionally, there are also some clear drawbacks to the argument. The most glaring being an offensive zone start rate of 85.56%, which is near the top in the league. However, it is extremely encouraging to see how strong of a defensive player Jack Hughes is becoming. And he will only continue to get better.

	2023-24	2024-25	Percent Change
Shots Against	83rd	93rd	12.05%
Goals Against	33rd	91st	175.76%
Shot Attempts Against	96th	90th	-6.25%
Expected Goals Against	49th	87th	77.55%
Scoring Chances Against	92nd	93rd	1.09%
High-Danger Chances Against	91st	83rd	-8.79%
On-Ice Defensive Metrics	43rd	90th	109.30%

For comparison sake, above is the percentile change of where Hughes ranked last season compared to this year. As you can see, the strides he has made in just one season are off the charts. Not only is this a testament to the effort and work Hughes has put in himself, but also new head coach Sheldon Keefe and what he has done for Hughes.

Note, statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey. All statistics are as of before start of play on December 28, 2024.