New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier has had an uneven 2025-26 campaign after starting strong, slowing down, and then heating up again, but if his recent endeavors tell us anything, it's that he's exactly where he needs to be.
Hischier, 26, had been handed a golden opportunity to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best defensive forward, with Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov going down with a significant knee injury before the start of the season.
Of course, things got a lot harder for the former No. 1 overall pick when Jack Hughes cut his hand and reassumed position on the proverbial shelf, but Hischier is standing his ground.
The 26-year-old has nine points in his last four games, and, despite playing all the tough minutes, owns a 48.31% on ice expected goals-for percentage during that span, according to Natural Stat Trick.
That only ranks 40th in the NHL amongst centers with 50 minutes of ice time in the last seven days, but Hischier is actually right there with his Selke competition in Nick Suzuki (38th). Sam Reinhart, who was a finalist last year, is considerably ahead at 22nd, but we can comfortably say Hischier is at least back in and keeping himself in the conversation without many external factors working in his favor.
Hischier has been operating with an inconsistent goaltending duo, significant injuries to his defense for parts of the season (Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Johnathan Kovacevic), injuries to his forward group, and near constant line changes.
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar will assuredly garner some votes in his final NHL season, and Reinhart and Suzuki are still going strong, but Hischier has managed to re-insert himself into the conversation with haste.
Yes, the Selke is a defensive award, but points matter, too. That's why the award never ends up in the hands of the NHL's best, most gritty fourth-line penalty killer and always in the hands of a player who is a star on both sides of the puck.
The work is far from done here, but don't sleep on Hischier and the Devils, Hughes or no Hughes.