Extending Devils Captain Nico Hischier Should Be A No-Brainer For Sunny Mehta
· Yahoo Sports
Sunny Mehta was hired to be the next man in charge of the New Jersey Devils roster. He replaces Tom Fitzgerald with a heaping plate of issues to fix right off the jump. One of them is getting Captain Nico Hischier extended.
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Hischier was the number one overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and he’s been a great player for the Devils ever since. He isn’t a 65-70 assist type of playmaker, but he is smart with the puck, scores anywhere from 25-35 goals a season, and is one of the best two-way centers in the game.
In 609 games, Hischier has 199 goals and 289 assists for 488 points. Those points don’t grow on trees, especially when a player is as responsible in his own end as Hischier. He takes it to another level, earning Selke votes every year, including a second-place finish in 2023.
With Jack Hughes in the mix, they don’t need Hischier to solely focus on offense. If he wanted to be a 100-point player and cheat for offense, he easily could. He chooses to play a game that is better suited for winning when the going gets tough.
For most of his tenure, all he's needed was the team around him to be significantly better so they can get to those types of games. He’d also tell you that there’s another level he must reach if the Devils are going to go on a run.
When Hischier’s entry-level contract expired, the Devils already had him signed to a long-term extension with a cap hit of $7.25 million. At the time, it was perceived to be a wild overpay, but he’s actually been a bargain throughout the deal. His next contract will come with a raise.
Hischier’s contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, meaning he is eligible for an extension as soon as July 1st. If the issue starts to linger and creep into the season, there might be trade rumors beginning to swirl if the team isn’t showing signs of being a Cup contender.
Sunny Mehta is a smart guy. If he feels that Hischier is a part of New Jersey’s future, he must get this done soon. It has to be one of the top priorities in the early stages of his tenure on the job.
What type of AAV does Hischier deserve? Well, he is certainly going to be a player worth north of $10 million or more per year. Somewhere in the $10-13 million range makes sense for him. When you start thinking about $14 million, you need more offense than Hischier provides consistently.
Being deep down the middle is important to winning in the NHL, and Hischier is a top-20 center at this stage of the game. With Jack Hughes becoming more and more of a top-end star, they are a great offsetting pair. Unless a center that's better or of equal value is coming in, letting Hischier go would be a mistake.
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