The New Jersey Devils have announced that Nico Hischier will be the 12th Captain in franchise history. This unexpected and pleasant news occurred just as Hishier returned to the Devils lineup after his leg injury, which kept him out of the lineup for the start of the year, and COVID which kept him out for two weeks. With the Devils #1 center coming back on the team, it was the perfect time for the Devils to announce the future leader of their franchise.
With the first pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils selected Hischier who made a huge impact on the Devils from his arrival. In his rookie season, Hischier had 52 points in 82 games and his strong all-around play helped the Devils reach the postseason. The next season he continued his strong play with 47 points in 69 games. The season after that, Hischier had a bit of a slump, only scoring 36 points in 58 games, but he was a leader on and off the ice for the team. Now entering his fourth season, Hischier will have to lead the young Devils team, with a ‘C’ on his jersey.
The New Jersey Devils were left without a captain since former Andy Greene was traded to the New York Islanders. At the start of the season, new Devils coach Lindy Ruff revealed that they would be naming a captain, but never specified when they would. There were a couple of options for the Devils to name the captain which included Travis Zajac who has just played 1,000 games in the NHL and has been on the Devils for the last 15 years. Kyle Palmieri, who was raised in New Jersey, has been on the team for the last six years and has taken over a big leadership role on the team. However, with where both players are in their careers, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald discussed to them about the captaincy and decided that Hischier was deserving of the Honor.Â