The New Jersey Devils are a long way away from being as good as the St. Louis Blues, but there is one major thing they can learn from them.
The New Jersey Devils are headed into one of their biggest and most important offseasons in franchise history. They are going to make the number-one overall pick and select an offensive weapon that perhaps they’ve never had. A dynamic center who can make plays and see the ice better than most.
The St. Louis Blues just defeated the Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final. The Blues were always one of those teams that were right there but couldn’t quite get over the hump. They saw themselves lose to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose and Minnesota on multiple different occasions, often the favorites in those series.
This year was different. They added something that the Devils perhaps already have, and could be the key to winning the tournament in the future. They made a large scale trade with the Buffalo Sabres to acquire Ryan O’Reilly to be their number one two-way center.
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He was everything they could have asked for an more. He led the Blues in regular season scoring with 28 goals and 49 assists for 77 points and was a +22. He is also one of the Selke Trophy finalists for best defensive forward. Then, he went on and led the Blues in playoff scoring with 8 goals and 15 assists for 23 points and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
So after all these years of Vladimir Tarasenko being the only guy who can score at an elite clip, they add O’Reilly and all of the sudden get over the hump. Defense and goaltending really helped but having this elite two-way guy went a long way.
That is where Devils forward Nico Hischier comes in. Is it really unrealistic to think that Hischier can’t get to 77 points in his career at any point while being a Selke Trophy finalist? He absolutely can! He will be the guy that is semi-relied on for offense, but with guys like Jack Hughes and perhaps Taylor Hall there, it won’t be his only job.
Comparing Nico to O’Reilly isn’t unrealistic at all, and that is exactly the type of player you need to win Cups. Even on the other side you had Patrice Bergeron, who is probably the best in the world at this two way center game (also a Selke Trophy finalist). You’ve seen guys like Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar win multiple Cups as well and this is the reason why Devils fans should be so thrilled to have Nico Hischier in the fold.
Yeah, Hughes might lead the Devils in scoring each year one day, but you are nothing without a true number one two-way center and Hischier can be that. This St. Louis Blues Cup run should be an inspiration to the Devils because they have one of the major pieces that was so evident in not only the regular season, but the playoffs as well.
It might even take a few years for him to be THAT good, but the potential is for sure there. He had 52 points in 82 games as an 19 year old and had a better points-per-game in less games played in his sophomore season. His 47 point in 69 games is a 55 point pace and that was mostly without Hall. His breakout season offensively might be right around the corner and that will make him a truly elite center.