It was not the season people envisioned for the New Jersey Devils in 2025-26. After making the playoffs the season before, the goal was to get back into the dance and redeem themselves. Evidently, that was not the case, as the Devils failed to get back to the postseason.
Numerous factors played a role, such as subpar goaltending, bad injury luck, and lackluster depth. The Devils decided to keep Sheldon Keefe as the bench boss, but the Devils did make a change at the general manager position. Out the door was Tom Fitzgerald and in the door came Sunny Mehta.
Hischier Is Here To Stay
It always makes fans eager as to what the new manager will come in and do. Will there be a big core shakeup? What type of splash will they make? The good news is that Mehta comes from the Florida Panthers organization and is a person who has an eye for talent and identifies the right players to come in and fit the roster to their playing style. The splashes he’s made thus far phenomenal, but the cherry on top of all of this is the contract extension of Nico Hischier.
The Devils had some holes to fill, but locking up Hischier gives the Devils their one-two punch down the middle of the ice with him and Jack Hughes. The contract in itself is great value, five years with an annual average value of $11.7 million. Given the cap is rising, that’s almost a steal of a deal. The models love the contract, as is evident by the Athletic assigning an “A-minus” grade to the deal. Hischier is the heart and soul of this team, a glue guy, and a great leader. It’s one thing Sunny knew immediately when coming into this role.
“When I took this job, I knew that Nico was one of the core pieces that I definitely wanted as part of our future,” said Mehta. “The way he plays the game, his leadership, and selflessness are qualities we value for this team. We all look forward to him leading this franchise, on and off the ice, for years to come.”
The feeling is also very mutual for Hischier, who has made the playoffs twice in his career for the Devils and has seen the second round once. When sitting down with Mehta, Hischier trusts him with a plan to help get the Devils on the right track.
“He has a plan, and that’s important for me. In Florida, they won Cups and that experience he can bring in here. His plan that he was expressing to me, sounded good to me. For me Jersey will always be important & that’s why I’m excited to be part of this plan.”
That’s the part that is massive with this extension as well, as it continues this Devils window of striving for a Stanley Cup. It hasn’t gone according to plan, but there is plenty of time. Winning in this league is not easy, but the Hurricanes winning is a prime example of a team finally getting over the hump after being close for several years prior. The Devils core of Hischier, the Hughes brothers, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Brett Pesce, and Dougie Hamilton can very much breakthrough. It does start with Hischier, who has been a fantastic Devil and will continue to do so.
From day one, Hischier has been everything you could possibly want out of a number one center. Not to mention, the production is precisely what you’d want to see as well. Hischier led the Devils in goals last season (28) and was third on the team in points (66). What stands out the most is that Hischier has had five-straight 60-plus point seasons. He has been a lock for 20 goals each season and the last two years has been a key contributor on the power play. During the 2024-25 season, Hischier had a career-best 29 points with the man advantage and finished with 23 this past season.
When it came to on ice impacts, Hischier was impactful for this Devils group. He finished sixth in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 53.99, second in expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) with 55.12, first in high danger Corsi-for percentage (55.42), and was a machine in the face-off circle. He did all this while playing arguably the toughest minutes in the league. This is a player you waste no time locking up and Mehta put the cherry on top to what has been a terrific start to his tenure.
Final Thoughts
This week was a great week to be a Devils fan and at least gives you encouragement moving forward. The Devils roster is taking good shape, especially up front. Moves will still be made, but nothing is bigger than seeing the Devils captain staying put where he belongs.