American superstar Jack Hughes has said that he would like to play on a line with Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Both Hughes and Matthews were, unsurprisingly, named to Bill Guerin's 4-Nations USA team last week, and Hughes has already come out and said he would like to play on a line with the Toronto Maple Leafs captain.
Hughes, who is a natural center and plays center for New Jersey, also said he would be willing to move to the wing for the chance to play on a line with Matthews.
Who could possibly blame him?
Jack Hughes Wants to Play With Maple Leafs Star at 4-Nations Face-Off
Matthews was one of USA's six initial selections back in June, while Jack Hughes was announced as a member of the American squad last week.
Matthews, who has struggled to his standards to start the season, partially due to injury, scored a huge goal against Jack Hughes and his Devils in New Jersey on Tuesday night to propel the Leafs to an improbable 2-1 win.
AUSTON MATTHEWS OT GAME WINNER‼️ pic.twitter.com/Ag9WIh7gPQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 11, 2024
With 20 games played this season, the Leafs top line center has 9 goals and 10 assists. Just under a point per game pace is a fine pace for majority of players in the league, but for someone who found the net 69 times last season and added 38 assists for 107 points, the clubs newly minted captain likely wants more out of himself.
Hughes, on the other hand, has turned into a star himself. After being selected first overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the American phenom had a slow start to his career after having sky high expectations when entering the league.
He slowly found his game and burst onto the scene in the 2022-23 season with 43 goals and 99 points, good enough to land himself in the top 10 of Hart Trophy voting.
Four Maple Leafs in total were named to 4-Nations's rosters -- William Nylander will be suiting up for Sweden, Matthews will be playing for USA, MItch Marner was named to Canada, and likely the most surprising of the four, Jani Hakanpää was named to Finland's squad.
The 4-Nations Faceoff will take place from February 12-20, 2025, at the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston, and the Americans are favored to win for perhaps the first time ever against Canada in a best on best international tournament.