Hughes meets photographer who snapped iconic Olympic photo

It’s a photo of Jack Hughes that will go down in history.

And now, the subject of the iconic photograph has met the photographer.

The New Jersey Devils forward met up with Elsa Garrison – who snapped the now-famous shot of Hughes, draped in an American flag, celebrating after his golden goal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 – before the Devils game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Garrison is a New Jersey resident and often photographs Devils games.

The two posed for a photo after Hughes gifted Garrison with a signed copy of the picture.

“It was kind of surreal," Garrison said of meeting Hughes before the game. "It was kind of surreal and I was kind of like, this is cool. We're both kind of [tied] together because of that moment.”

Garrison is also the photographer behind the famous picture of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle (a recreation of the play eventually ended up on the cover of the "Madden 25" video game) from 2024.

She also took the photo of Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing to gold medalist Rebeca Andrade at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

And that wasn't the only photo Hughes posed for on Saturday.

After the game, former New York Giants quarterback and known hockey dad Eli Manning blamed Hughes for losing his hat.

Hughes, of course, had a hat trick and an assist in a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers at Prudential Center.

-- NHL.com Senior Draft Writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report