Eastern Conference: Assigning captains to the captain-less teams

New Jersey Devils – Nico Hischier

The New Jersey Devils last season saw themselves finish eighth in the Metropolitan Division, with only 68 points in 69 games.

This Devils team struggled to find their identity all year, and while they picked it up towards the end of the season, going 6-2-2 in their last 10 before the halt in play, a playoff spot was out of sight early on.

Given their situation, the team decided to trade their long-time veteran,14-year Devil, Andy Greene to the New York Islanders, a player who had been serving as team captain since the start of the 2015-2016 campaign.

That being said, this young team headlined by #1 overall picks in Jack Hughes in 2019 and Nico Hischier in 2017, is looking to improve upon last year’s record. New pieces such as netminder Corey Crawford, winger Andreas Johnson, and defenseman Ryan Murray look to help change the culture of this team, as future Hall of Fame coach Lindy Ruff takes the reigns behind the bench to help turn this franchise around.

While 14-year Devil Travis Zajac may seem like the right guy to lead a young team, he is in the last year of his contract, and it could be the end of his tenure wearing the red, white, and black. With the team getting younger, it just does not make sense to have a rental captain even if he is very deserving of it. The same can be said about veteran Kyle Palmieri. He is entering the last year of his contract, with rumors swirling about potential trades involving him, which could happen before this season begins, whenever that may be.

On a young team looking to take the next step, Nico Hischier seems like the best man for the job.

The 21-year old served as an alternate captain last season, putting up 14 goals and 22 assists in 58 games. While it was a down year for the third-year NHLer, we saw him improve in certain facets of his game, recording a career-low in penalties (six), as well as setting a career-high with a 51.7 percent success rate in the face-off circle.

He was elected to his first NHL All-Star Game of his career this past season, scoring this beauty right here.

With such a young core, this team needs a young leader who will grow with the team. Already serving as the number one center, that already shows a level of responsibility and trust.

Look for him to be named the 9th captain in franchise history.