More than two weeks after scoring arguably the biggest goal in recent United States hockey history, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes is still sporting a gap-toothed grin, apparently against his best wishes.
Hughes, whose overtime winner defeated Canada in the Olympic gold-medal game Feb. 22, remained without one of his front teeth March 9 during his latest media appearance at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in New York City. The 24-year-old visited the Times Square location with Caroline Harvey, a member of the U.S. women’s hockey team who also defeated Canada to win gold.
Jack Hughes of Team USA celebrates following the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb.22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. The United States defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime.
Hughes acknowledged his mangled mouth, the result of an errant stick late in the third period of the Canada game, when prompted by photographers to take a bite of his gold medal. He encouraged Harvey to do so before sheepishly admitting, “I can’t do that.”
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Earlier: See Jack Hughes get hero’s welcome in return to Devils from Olympics
Jack Hughes will fix his teeth
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Hobby’s Deli in Newark created a signature “Jack’s Golden Goal Sandwich” which honors Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils who scored the game-winning goal to give the United States men’s hockey team the gold medal at the Olympics.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Hobby’s Deli in Newark created a signature “Jack’s Golden Goal Sandwich” which honors Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils who scored the game-winning goal to give the United States men’s hockey team the gold medal at the Olympics.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Hobby’s Deli in Newark created a signature “Jack’s Golden Goal Sandwich” which honors Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils who scored the game-winning goal to give the United States men’s hockey team the gold medal at the Olympics.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Hobby’s Deli in Newark created a signature “Jack’s Golden Goal Sandwich” which honors Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils who scored the game-winning goal to give the United States men’s hockey team the gold medal at the Olympics.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Jack Hughes #86 of Team United States celebrates after their gold-medal win.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Jack Hughes of the United States celebrates after winning the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
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Devils’ Jack Hughes gets his own sandwich
Members of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team that won the gold medal, Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, pose with their medals during U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2026. REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE
But despite Hughes’ recent rise in fame, he has said he does not plan to keep the toothless look permanently. In a March 2 interview alongside his brother Quinn and women’s hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” he told the late-night host that he simply has not had time to get his teeth fixed yet.
“(It’s) more of just, like, you don’t want to spend time in the dentist chair, obviously,” Hughes said. “So that’s the biggest issue, I’d say.”
Fallon jokingly tried to convince Hughes to reconsider, calling the injury and gold medal-winning goal “the most hockey thing I can even think of ever happening in the world.” He also told the Devils forward, “I feel like this might be your thing.”
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Hughes politely rejected the idea, telling Fallon, “I can promise you this won’t be my thing.” He even playfully dissuaded the audience from cheering, covering his mouth with his hand and shaking his head amid the applause.
Hughes previously addressed the tooth topic in a Feb. 27 ESPN interview on “The Pat McAfee Show.” At the time, he said he had “no plan” on when to fix his teeth, noting that he was focused on his NHL schedule after returning from the Olympics.
“I have no idea what my dental plan is yet, so we’ll see,” Hughes told McAfee. “It’s on the back burner a little bit.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Will Jack Hughes fix his teeth? What NJ Devils and Team USA star said