Jack Hughes got a hero’s welcome in Newark but the Michelob Ultra promotion was a complete whiff

Jack Hughes is back.

The New Jersey Devils returned to NHL action Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, and the pregame ceremony at Prudential Center brought the house down before a single puck was dropped.

The Devils honored all their 2026 Olympians, including players who represented other nations, but nobody was getting the reception that Hughes was going to get and everyone in that building knew it.

When the gold medal-winning goal replay hit the Jumbotron, the crowd erupted like it was happening in real time. USA chants bounced around the arena. American flags were everywhere.

Jack Hughes grabbed Tage Thompson from the Buffalo bench first and made sure the crowd acknowledged his fellow American before picking up the microphone himself.

And then the 24-year-old, who just became arguably the biggest American hockey star alive after scoring the overtime winner to hand Canada their first men’s hockey gold medal defeat in this century, nearly broke down in tears.

Jack Hughes Speech

Jack Hughes brought out Tage Thompson and spoke to the New Jersey crowd in his return to the NHL after they brought home the gold medal 👏 pic.twitter.com/4p1bBMKRns

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 26, 2026

“I’m so proud and I’m so happy that the men’s and women’s USA hockey teams brought gold medals back to the United States of America. From the bottom of my heart, all my USA teammates just want to thank you guys for all the love and support. We feel it. Thank you.”

That is a genuine moment. That is a guy who just did something historic for his country standing in front of a crowd that felt every second of it with him.

Hughes also addressed the noise around Team USA attending the State of the Union and the criticism that has followed some players for meeting with President Trump.

He was direct about it:

“Everything is so political. We’re athletes. We’re so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to the White House and meet the president, we’re proud to be Americans and that’s so patriotic.”

Good for him for saying it plainly and not dancing around it.

The turnaround for guys like Jack Hughes was brutal. Gold medal on Sunday in Italy. Party in Miami on Monday. State of the Union in Washington on Tuesday. Back on NHL ice Wednesday. However long it takes him to find his legs again, nobody is going to complain.

Now, about that Michelob Ultra promotion.

Jack Hughes wears number 86. The Devils and Michelob teamed up for what they apparently thought was a clever tribute, selling beers for $8.60 in his honor. Eight dollars and sixty cents. For a Michelob Ultra.

A beer you can currently purchase in a 30-rack for roughly twenty dollars, or about 67 cents a can. The arena promotion price was more than twelve times what the beer actually costs.

Michelob Ultra with the worst Jack Hughes promotion ever

$8.60 is not good 😂 @MichelobULTRA https://t.co/Fbgb8EMYti

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) February 26, 2026

If you wanted to do something that actually got fans fired up and generated real goodwill, the price should have been 86 cents. Better yet, pull a Bud Light Philly Philly move and just give everyone a free one.

That is the kind of thing people talk about for years. Instead, the Devils and Michelob decided that honoring their gold medal hero meant charging fans a premium for domestic beer.

It is a minor thing in the grand scheme of a great night. Hughes got his moment, the crowd gave it back to him, and the USA Hockey celebration tour is just getting started. But whoever greenlit the $8.60 promotion should probably think harder next time.

Join The Chase