Is Nico Hischier worth $13 million per season to the New Jersey Devils?

The most important task on New Jersey Devils GM Sunny Mehta's to-do list is getting Nico Hischier's contract extention done. The Devils' captain is one of their best players, and most important, he plays probably the most premium position in the NHL. Centers are going for eye-popping numbers when it comes to new contracts.

And that's why Hischier's contract is expected to immediately get into those eye-popping numbers.

Last season, Kirill Kaprizov reset the market with the most insane contract in the league. Bill Guerin, GM of the Minnesota Wild, signed him to an eight-year deal worth $17 million per season on average. That’s a full $3 million more than the next highest-paid player (Leon Draisaitl at $14 million). A few contracts are coming up that should push more valuations forward, and with the rising salary cap and new CBA limiting contracts to six years for free agents and seven years for re-signings, it could force teams to up the ante.

The Devils are eligible to give Hischier eight years one last time, but a new report from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes says that’s not how the negotiations are going. 

Wow. $11-13 million per season? That’s quite the pill to swallow. 

Nico Hischier is worth whatever it takes to sign him

And those numbers are very, very different. There are only four players in the entire league that has a contract worth $13 million or more. The list is Kaprizov, Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, and Jack Eichel. Is Hischier in the conversation with those players? We can’t say that he is, but that’s not really how this works.

And that’s where Hischier finds himself. If Hischier leaves the Devils or asks for a trade like so many stars are doing right now, the Devils lose the one advantage that makes them a constant contender. Having Hischier and Jack Hughes down the middle for their entire primes will eventually lead to contention. 

So much has gone wrong with this era of Devils hockey, but Hischier and Hughes have grown into special players. It’s time to pay the piper after Tom Fitzgerald wasted their great contracts. With the rising cap, it should only hurt for a year or two.

And we still think that Hischier’s contract will be closer to that $11 million number than it will be that $13 million number. That will especially be true if he’s signing for “medium term” like Weekes reported. Only an eight-year deal would warrant a contract that moves into that stratosphere. 

Either way, signing Hischier is most important. If they can get it done on July 1st, the first day he’s eligible to sign, then even better. So many analysts have thrown Hischier’s name out there as trade bait, including The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Now, that chatter should be lighten.