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Jack Hughes joined the “NHL @TheRink” podcast this week and the New Jersey Devils center talked about knocking one important thing off his NHL bucket list this season.

Hughes is on the cover of EA SPORTS NHL 25 with brothers Quinn, the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks, and Luke, a second-year defenseman with the Devils. The game will be available on Oct. 4.

“Coming into the NHL that was definitely a goal of mine,” said Hughes while at the NHL North American Player Media Tour in Las Vegas earlier this month. “I was like, ‘I would love to be on the cover one day.’ Doing it with Quinn and Luke is even more special.”

Hughes also discussed why he is optimistic about the Devils’ chances this season with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke.

New Jersey missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season after finishing with 112 points and reaching the Eastern Conference Second Round in 2022-23. Hughes’ 2023-24 season ended prematurely because of shoulder surgery. He missed 20 games last season.

“I feel good and excited going into the year,” Hughes said. “I feel like my body is in a really good spot. With how the season went last year, pretty frustrating just personally not playing and the team performing not how we were supposed to. We definitely have a rejuvenated squad with new players and a new coaching staff. The guys that were there, we’re excited to get back to where we were two years ago.”

In addition to Hughes, Roarke and Rosen also talked with Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson at the Player Media Tour.

Carlson discussed the additions the Capitals made in the offseason, including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun and Andrew Mangiapane, and why he thinks Washington can again be a playoff team after getting in last season before being swept in the first round by the New York Rangers.

“This will be the biggest turnover, the biggest new faces, fresh faces at the start of the year since I’ve been here,” Carlson said. “I think excitement is a great word. I think there are a lot of players that are great players coming to us at a pivotal time in their careers. It’s important to mesh and we’ll deal with that as it comes, but from an outlook we’re excited to have them and we really got better.”

Rosen and Roarke open the show discussing the Buffalo Sabres and their European adventure. Rosen recorded the episode from Munich hours before the Sabres played EHC Red Bull Munchen at SAP Garden in the 2024 NHL Global Series Challenge Germany presented by Fastenal.

They talked about Rasmus Dahlin being named the Sabres captain and Buffalo’s chances of ending its 13-year playoff drought.

They also discussed the chances of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews one day owning the NHL all-time goal record, the Capitals’ chances of making the playoffs, the excitement around Philadelphia Flyers rookie forward Matvei Michkov and the impact the Utah Hockey Club is already making in Salt Lake City.

The “NHL @TheRink”podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.