The New Jersey Devils could potentially have some really nice depth at the center of the ice, and it shouldn’t be long before it is recognized.
The New Jersey Devils did not feature a player on NHL Network’s Top-20 Centers list. They haven’t really had a center that you would say is top-20 in the league in a really long time. Even that team that made a magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 got most of their offense driven by wingers like Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Patrik Elias. This 2019 list could be the last list to not feature a Devils center for a long time.
The Devils won the NHL Draft Lottery two times in three years and ended up with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. These are the two most important future pieces of the organization and could both see their way to being top-20 centers in the NHL during their primes. They are both so different in their playstyles but they are both exactly what you need to build around.
Hischier is the closest out of the two to be on the list. His offensive game is still growing, but most predict we are about to enter his breakout year. He is a defensive stud and does all the little things to try and help the Devils win hockey games. He is blooming into an elite two-way center that can contribute on both ends of the ice. If he has a season that sees him be as good defensively as he has been and he eclipses 70 points we could see him on this list in 2020.
Jack Hughes making the list in 2020 would be very impressive, but it is certainly possible. He would have to absolutely explode offensively in his rookie season. Defensive minded games like Hischier often don’t get the attention they deserve, but a player like Jack is all about the offense. He can make plays using his skating and vision out there. If he lights it up in year one as Elias Petterson did for the Vancouver Canucks last year, he could be on this list next year just like Petterson is now.
It would be cool to have just one Devils center make the list someday, but imagine if two did. Only the Washington Capitals (Evgeni Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom), Tampa Bay Lightning (Brayden Points and Steven Stamkos), Toronto Maple Leafs (Auston Matthews and John Tavares), and Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) have two players featured. If the Devils could ever be one of those two teams with Hischier and Hughes that would be amazing.
It would also mean that the team is having success because having elite players can help get you wins. Hopefully, there comes a day where both of these two studs crack the top-20 and have the Devils competing for the playoffs year in and year out.