The New Jersey Devils have a lot of faith in Nico Hischier and he should be the next captain.
The New Jersey Devils are currently without a captain. They traded Andy Greene to the New York Islanders at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline. It was tough to see Greene go, but the team felt it was needed to move on from him for assets. Now, it is time for the team to look forward in their search for a new player to don the “C”. It is pretty clear that Nico Hischeir is the right man for the job.
It was clear from day one that Hischier was going to be the next captain, especially if Taylor Hall didn’t stay long term. In that very first NHL game of his, he stood up for his teammate Kyle Palmieri after Palmieri took a knee on knee hit by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson. Hischier was an 18-year-old rookie standing up to an NHL defenseman for hitting his teammate in his very first game.
From that moment on, Hischier has been an impressive player. His point totals still leave a little to be desired, but that will come with more development and better players around him. Believe it or not, he is one of the better point producers in the league at even strength. He isn’t used on the power play enough, and that causes his overall numbers to be below the standard of an “elite scorer”. Once the coaches decide to give him more than the sixth most power-play ice time, the numbers should come way up.
As far as a two-way player, he is second to none on the team. He can provide offense and be very good in his own end. For example, Jack Hughes might develop into a superstar offensive player, but Hischier was better defensively in his rookie year than Hughes will be in his prime. It is a great duo to have, but Hischier is going to be that number one guy that is all-situational.
Sometimes your play on the ice forces a bit of responsibility on you. When you are one of the team leaders on the ice, it only makes sense that you help in the leadership aspect of the ice. Hischier has shown he can do that from day one. He has had an “A” on his sweater at different points over the last two seasons for different reasons, but now it is time to upgrade that “A” to a “C”. He should be named the next captain of the New Jersey Devils in short order. They signed him to a long term extension so he is the man for the job.