New Jersey Devils: Three Candidates For Captain Honors
The New Jersey Devils traded away their captain in 2019-20 and now will turn the page to look for the new player to dawn the C on their sweater.
The New Jersey Devils have a lot of young players on their team. They are loaded with skill but have a lot of work to do before they can start winning regularly. Things could turn the corner at any time but they need everyone to carry their weight. Accepting and executing their role is the most important thing to do as players. Well, now we get to wonder who is going to be the leader of this team in terms of being the captain.
The Devils had Andy Greene as a great captain for a while. He was one of the longest-tenured players on the team before they traded him to the New York Islanders. Well, from that point on they ran with having three alternate captains per game for the rest of the season. They may or may not make a decision on who their next captain is this offseason and it is likely a good idea. It is a good thing to have someone who is the leader.
The Devils have a lot of different options to become their new captain. There are plenty of people on the team who have leadership skills that complement their on-ice abilities perfectly. The leadership on this team spans a lot of different ages. Some candidates are young, middle-aged, and older NHL players.
The most important thing for the Devils at this time is deciding on the perfect man for the job. These are the three players that make the most sense to be the guy named as the captain of the New Jersey Devils:
New Jersey Devils. Nico Hischier. 13. player. 85. . C
The New Jersey Devils have a whole lot of faith invested in Nico Hischier. He was the first-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He has come into the league and been one of the best players on the team ever since he arrived. There is no doubt that he is going to be one of the team’s best players for a very long time now. One thing that we didn’t know going into it all, was the fact that he is a tremendous leader.
He was given an “A” on his sweater over the past two seasons at different points. He was never wearing it full time but he was one who got it during injuries and then on a part-time basis once Andy Greene was traded away. It says a lot about him because he is still very young yet he knows what it takes to be a leader of men.
It would be cool to see the Devils name him to be the next captain. We have seen him develop over the years from a rookie to now so seeing him finally dawn the “C” would be awesome. He still has a long way to go in his development on the ice, especially in the offensive part of his game, but there is no doubt that he is a star in the making. It would be an honor for him and the team for this to become a reality. Right now, it is just a matter of whether or not they want to hand over that responsibility to him at such a young age.
21. player. 85. . RW. New Jersey Devils. Kyle Palmieri
Kyle Palmieri has been a great New Jersey Devils player for a while now. It is hard to believe that his contract already has only one year left on it but it does. It is a debate amongst the people who follow this team whether or not they will trade him or sign him to an extension. If they do, he is a candidate to be the next captain of the team.
If the reason for waiting on giving the “C” to Hischier is to give him a few more years to develop and be a million percent sure that he is the one for the job, Palmieri is one of the guys that can do it. He has been wearing an “A” on his jersey at different points for a long time now which shows that he is a respected leader in the Devils locker room.
Palmieri’s play has also shown that he is a leader of this team. Sometimes, the way you play puts a leadership responsibility on you as a player. He scores big goals at opportune times all the time and he knows how to rough it up to defend his teammates. Anyone who watches the Devils regularly can see that he is a feisty guy with a lot of skills so it makes sense when you imagine him as the leader of the team.
C. New Jersey Devils. Travis Zajac. 19. player. 85.
The longest-tenured player on the New Jersey Devils is Travis Zajac. Think of Zajac’s career as what we hope will be looked at as “a poor man’s Hischier”. A defensive center who was also able to contribute some offense. Hischier should soar past Zajac in scoring but we can hope that he continues to grow as a two-way player. Zajac being there to help Nico for all these years now has been awesome to watch. With all of that experience that Zajac has, he might be a guy to be the captain as a bridge to Hischier.
Zajac is one of the pillars of this franchise’s history, especially recent history. He has been a part of two eras of Devils hockey as he was a big part of the team that made it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final and now is a big part of this new wave of kids. He doesn’t have much time left so they might look at it as a situation in which they can honor someone who would do such a good job and might deserve it.
He isn’t the offensive player that he once was but he is still a good leader both on and off the ice. He is amongst the team’s leaders in ice time, face off percentages, and defensive zone starts. You can’t put a number on Zajac’s all-time value to this team so he has to be in the discussion for being the next captain. If it goes to someone else, Zajac is guaranteed to continue wearing his “A” that he has had for a long time.
Three players the Devils might have to trade. light. Hot
Any of these gentlemen would make a great captain of this team. They need to make sure they do their due diligence when deciding because it could be a really big decision for this team as it looks to try and start winning shortly.