Nico Hischier isn’t just wearing the “C” for the Devils right now - he’s backing it up shift after shift.
That mattered early, when New Jersey was still feeling out a roster full of new bodies and new combinations. The start of the season had a scattered feel, and with the chatter around the team already picking up, it fell on the captain to keep things steady while the pieces sorted themselves out. Hischier has done that the way he usually does: without much noise, without much drama, and without riding the emotional roller coaster.
Now the results are showing up more clearly. Through 11 games, the Devils’ picture is cleaner, and one of the clearest things about it is that they have a Selke-caliber center holding down the 1C spot just fine.
Hischier has points in four of the Devils’ last six games, going 3-1-4 in that stretch after collecting a point in only one of the first five. He already has 5-2-7 on the season, which puts him third on the team in scoring and adds to the sense that New Jersey is moving in the right direction.
The scoring touch has been especially noticeable. Like Arseny Gritsyuk, Hischier entered Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings with five goals in 10 games and was tied for the team lead.
Gritsyuk moved ahead with an empty-net goal, but Hischier’s pace still points to roughly 40 goals over the course of the season. He’s in company with some familiar names there, too: Sam Reinhart, Mikko Rantanen, and Tage Thompson are also at five goals.
A big reason for that surge is the shot going in at a high rate. Hischier is converting 22.7% of his shots, which is a jump from his previous high of 18.7% in 2024-25.
That season, he set a career high with 35 goals. If this efficiency holds over 84 games, a 40-goal finish is squarely in play.
He’s only cleared the 30-goal mark twice. First came 31 goals in the 2022-23 season, then 35 in 2024-25. With chemistry continuing to build with the quick-fitting Luke Evangelista, there’s at least a path toward a new personal best.
Hischier’s value doesn’t stop at scoring, either. He has been one of the league’s most reliable faceoff men since arriving in 2017, ranking 10th in faceoff wins with 6,082. Last season he topped 1,000 wins for the first time, finishing with 1,008 and finishing well ahead of Jordan Staal’s 839 for second place.
This season, he’s sitting eighth in faceoff win percentage at 59.3% among NHL skaters with at least 100 draws, which would mark a career high. That’s exactly the kind of number that reflects the role he’s been asked to handle.
The power play has had a less consistent run, though it’s still a step up from the 1-for-14, 7.1% start that opened the year. The Devils responded to that rough beginning by going 3-for-4 against the Vancouver Canucks, then followed it with just three goals on their next 14 chances. That leaves them at 21.9% overall, good for 16th in the league.
Even so, there’s one combination that keeps flashing. The Hischier-Bratt-J.
Hughes trio has piled up 14 power-play points, and Hischier has scored four of New Jersey’s seven power-play goals. Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, and Luke Evangelista have each added one.
The Devils have enough talent across both units for the support to keep coming. For now, though, Hischier is doing the cleaning up himself. He’s been trending up, and if that keeps going, the five-year, $11.7-million extension that doesn’t begin until next year could wind up looking like a steal.
In Other News...
Devils Win Streak Suddenly Has A Much Bigger Goalie Twist
The Devils kept rolling with a 3-1 win over the Kings, pushing their streak to three straight and five of their last six. Brett Pesce supplied the go-ahead goal, while Jake Allen handled the rest in net with 12 saves in a tidy all-around effort that kept New Jerseys recent surge moving in the right direction.
Before the puck dropped, though, the biggest buzz centered on the crease, as the team introduced newly acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. For a club already finding its footing during this run, adding a name like that changes the conversation immediately and gives the Devils present success a far more interesting backdrop than a simple hot streak. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Just Changed The Metro Race In A Way Rivals Hate
The Devils made a major goaltending move by landing Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets, a deal that could reshape the Metropolitan Division picture almost immediately. New Jersey had been looking to shore up the position, and bringing in a proven netminder changes the way the rest of the division has to plan for the season ahead.
Hellebuyck arrives under a cloud after being suspended for missing preseason and training camp, but the expectation in Newark is that he can still give the Devils a much stronger presence in goal. Around the Metro, teams like the Hurricanes and Rangers were watching related talks closely, which only adds to the ripple effect of a move that opponents clearly would have preferred not to see happen. [Read more 🡒]