Jack Hughes would like his Olympic puck back
The Hockey Hall of Fame is keeping it, sorry
Jack Hughes’ gold medal-winning puck has been on display at Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame since the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics last month. It would have been “Canada down” for the New Jersey Devils centre to say “thank you, what an honour that so many patrons want to purchase a ticket and gaze at this important artifact, even though Team USA narrowly beat Team Canada, and that was probably disappointing for Torontonians.”
It was, of course, but we are mature people who can be normal about a puck. The Hockey Hall of Fame and International Ice Hockey Federation regularly arrange for memorabilia to be preserved at the downtown museum, after all, so this is a standard acquisition.
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Alas, speaking with ESPN, Hughes said it’s “bullshit” that he didn’t get to take the puck home, and that it’s been made publicly viewable to schoolchildren on field trips instead. “I’m trying to get it….Why would they have that puck?” he said, referring to the world’s largest hockey memorabilia collection, where they keep the Stanley Cup.
Hughes is no stranger to Toronto, having spent some of his childhood in the area as his father coached with the Toronto Marlies. Hughes also played for the Toronto Marlboros.
“These donated items represent defining moments on the world’s biggest stage and carry powerful stories of national pride and hockey history at its highest level,” Jamie Dinsmore, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s president and CEO, told ESPN. “The Olympics ‘26 display will help ensure that these unforgettable Olympic moments are preserved for our guests from around the world to experience.”
Sorry Jack, but the puck belongs to everyone, now. We’re sure the Hall of Fame would give you a special VIP lanyard if you want to come see it.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
