New Jersey Devils Sign Nico Hischier To Perfect Contract

The New Jersey Devils announced they signed center Nico Hischier to a new seven-year deal. It’s a great deal for both the player and the team.

It’s been an amazing 24 hours for New Jersey Devils fans. On Thursday night, they were able to get their first win of the season. What made it better is they thoroughly outplayed their Hudson River Rival in the New York Rangers. It was an awesome performance that we hope leads to more wins in the future.

Then, on Friday, rumblings started coming in that the Devils and Nico Hischier were close to a seven-year deal. Those rumblings turned into confirmed news very soon after that.

Nico Hischier and the Devils agreed to a $50.75 million contract, which breaks down pretty straight forward for those who look at the yearly breakdowns.

Hischier is also getting a modified no-trade clause in the years that he’s eligible. That would be the final three years of his contract per the current CBA (when he accrues seven years in the NHL).

This is such a good contract for both sides. The Devils probably could have held him out and forced him to sign a contract similar to Brayden Point (three years, $20.25 million), but is it really worth it to wait him out, go to the depths of free agency, just to save half a million dollars and lose four years on the deal?

Hischier probably could have tried holding out for $8 million, but that would have gone well into the offseason, and the Devils would have demanded he go all the way to eight years for that. Also, they would probably make him wait until Taylor Hall made a decision before doing that.

The Devils and Hischier signed the perfect contract. It’s a salary high enough that there will never really be regrets from the player, but low enough for it to be an absolute steal in three years when he hits his stride and the cap keeps going up. Also, it’s not a deal where Hischier has to worry about analysts comparing his deal like they do Brad Marchand‘s or Nathan Mackinnon’s. Those could hurt their teams when a GM like Joe Sakic tries to tell players they can’t make more than their best player.

This is a great day for New Jersey Devils fans. We locked in a former first-overall pick and a fan favorite for a guaranteed decade in the Garden State. He’s well on his way to being one of the better two-way players in the league, and he’s just 20 years old.