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Nico Hischier

Devils Notes: Allen, Trades, Hischier

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New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald laid out many of the team’s off-season priorities to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. He emphasized that re-signing defenseman Luke Hughes was a top priority, but then went on to add that the Devils will also make an effort to bring back backup goaltender Jake Allen. Fitzgerald said that Allen was one of the better goaltenders on the market, and that Allen’s camp has expressed a desire to stay in New Jersey.

Allen, 34, is coming off a two-year, $7.7MM contract signed with New Jersey in 2023. He was certainly a stout backup on that deal, landing a .904 save percentage and 19-22-2 record across 44 games. The bulk of those appearances – 31 to be exact – came behind Jacob Markstrom this season. Allen posted a 13-16-1 record and .908 save percentage on the year, but came up big for the Devils one more than one occasion. He’s a one-time Stanley Cup champion, and could be had for a cheap price on a deal that may carry him to retirement.

Other notes surrounding the Devils:

  • The Devils are entering the summer with just $12MM in available cap space, and could reason to spend nearly two-thirds of that on extending Hughes. That puts the team in a challenging spot when it comes to re-signing someone like Allen or Cody Glass. Fitzgerald shared he’s aware of the bind, and knows that the team will need to use strategic spending and trades to improve up the roster. The Devils don’t wield a first-round pick this year, but do have two second-round picks, and a well-built prospect pool. Trimming from either surplus could go far in landing New Jersey a stout addition, or helping them clear the cap space to make more moves.
  • Fitzgerald closed by shedding light on Devils captain Nico Hischier, who suffered a lower-body injury while at the World Championship. The GM said that Hischier’s removal from the tournament was precautionary, and that Hischier is back to training per usual. That’s great news for the 26-year-old, who posted 69 points in 75 games on the season. He also scored a career-high 35 goals, trumping his previous high of 31 goals from 2022-23. With good health, Hischier will be headed straight back to a starring role next season.

World Championship Notes: Hischier, Reichel, Hertl, Lauko

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Switzerland will be without one of their top players for the rest of the World Championship as Devils team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) that Nico Hischier has been ruled out due to a muscular injury.  He picked up two goals and an assist in four outings before suffering the injury, one that’s not believed to be a long-term concern and that his sitting for the rest of the event is largely precautionary.  Hischier had a career-high 35 goals this season in New Jersey along with 34 assists in 75 games while logging over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his eight-year NHL career.

More from the Worlds:

  • Germany winger Lukas Reichel won’t play in the rest of the event due to an injury sustained on Tuesday, reports Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription link). It’s expected he’ll need more time beyond that to recover but he is expected to get close to a full offseason of training in.  The 23-year-old is coming off a disappointing season with the Blackhawks, one that saw him record just eight goals and 14 assists in 70 games while seeing his playing time drop below 11 minutes per game.
  • Czechia won’t be getting one of their top players for a late-tournament addition. Hokej.cz’s Jakub Ruc relays that Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl did not receive medical clearance from the team to permit him to play the final few games of the event.  Hertl suffered an upper-body injury late in the regular season and it’s unclear if that’s the injury that will hold him out or if it was something different altogether.  After putting up 32 goals and 29 assists in 73 games this season, Hertl certainly would have been a big addition for the Czechs heading into the medal round.
  • Also from Ruc, winger Jakub Lauko is dealing with a jaw injury that will keep him out of the lineup for the time being but he is expected to be back before the end of the tournament. The pending restricted free agent was acquired by the Bruins near the trade deadline for his second stint with the team and had five goals and six assists in 56 games between Boston and Minnesota this season.

New Jersey Devils Activate Nico Hischier

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New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier will play his first game in approximately a month. New Jersey has officially activated their eight-year center ahead of tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars.

Hischier’s activation was expected given he’s been regularly skating for the past few weeks. Thanks to the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, Hischier only missed six games due to the oblique injury. The Devils managed a 3-3-0 record in his absence.

The Brig, Switzerland native was on pace for the second-best offensive season of his career and likely still could. Hischier scored 24 goals and 43 points in 51 games leading up to the injury, which puts him 24 points behind his 67-point output in 71 games last year. Still, thanks to his hot streak to start the 2024-25 campaign, it is likely Hischier will surpass his career-high of 31 goals in a single season.

Despite a healthy forward core, New Jersey will still be shorthanded this evening. Netminder Jacob Markström and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler continue to recover from their knee and lower-body injuries respectively. Those injuries shouldn’t create an insurmountable hurdle for the Devils to overcome.

Even without their top goaltender, New Jersey has averaged 2.28 goals-against per game while maintaining their plus-3.00 goals-for average. Being efficient in the faceoff dot, displaying above-average possession metrics, and scoring nearly every other game this season, Hischier should help the Devils improve in both categories even further.

Devils Place Jacob Markstrom, Jonas Siegenthaler On IR

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The New Jersey Devils have made a flurry of move with the hockey world’s attention turning back towards NHL rosters. Most notably, the team has placed starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom (knee) and top-four defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (lower-body) on injured reserve. Markstrom has missed New Jersey’s last seven games after suffering an MCL sprain in New Jersey’s win over Boston on January 22nd. He was announced as out four-to-six weeks at the time of his injury. Markstrom has posted a dazzling 21-9-5 record and .912 save percentage in 36 appearances this year. His starting role has been filled by veteran Jake Allen, who also has a .912 save percentage but just a 9-11-1 record in 21 games.

Siegenthaler’s injury is less clear. He left New Jersey’s February 7th game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking an awkward hit from Anthony Beauvillier. Siegenthaler missed New Jersey’s last two games. He is expected to miss an additional two-to-three weeks after undergoing a procedure to address his injury during the 4-Nations break, per head coach Sheldon Keefe. Siegenthaler has been one of New Jersey’s top defenders this season. He has just nine points in 55 games, but formed a strong pairing with Johnathan Kovacevic.

In corresponding moves, New Jersey also recalled defensemen Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey, and goaltender Tyler Brennan, to join the team’s Tuesday practice. The pair of defenders stand as perhaps New Jersey’s top two prospects. Nemec and Casey lead the Utica Comets’ blue-line in scoring, with 23 points in 34 games and 15 points in 22 games respectively. Meanwhile, Brennan has spent his last two seasons with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder. He’s begun vying for the starting role this year, leading all Thunder netminders with 22 games played and posting a 6-14-2 record and .870 save percentage. Brennan likely won’t stick with the roster when games start back up, but one of Casey or Nemec could hold onto a spot depending on how long Siegenthaler misses.

New Jersey has utilized 22 of 23 roster slots with both defense prospects up. That final roster spot could soon be taken up by captain Nico Hischier’s return. Keefe told NHL.com that Hischier didn’t seem to be dealing with any sort of discomfort in New Jersey’s first day back, though he’ll need to be approved by doctors before he can return. Hischier added that he felt like his break, and Tuesday’s practice, both went well. The top Swiss has missed New Jersey’s last six games with an oblique injury after taking a cross-check to the ribs in the Devils’ January 25th win over the Boston Bruins. He’s been one of New Jersey’s top forwards when healthy, with 24 goals and 43 points in 51 games. Hischier will immediately return to a top-line role, should he be healthy enough to play this weekend.

Devils Place Nico Hischier On IR, Recall Simon Nemec

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The Devils announced today that captain Nico Hischier is headed for injured reserve after missing the last four contests with an upper-body injury. Top defense prospect Simon Nemec was called up from AHL Utica in the corresponding move and will enter the lineup tonight against the Golden Knights in place of Jonas Siegenthaler, who left Tuesday’s game against the Penguins with an apparent leg/ankle injury after falling awkwardly in the neutral zone.

Hischier sustained the injury on a cross-check/slash from Montreal captain Nick Suzuki, leading to his first absence of the season. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters last week that Hischier is out week-to-week, so while he’s eligible to come off IR at any time, he’s still not expected back for their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off against the Canadiens on Saturday.

He remains the team’s goal leader despite missing time, with 24 in 51 games. He’s also added 19 assists for 43 points, ranking fourth on the team with a +11 rating and leading them with a 55.5 FO%. Dawson Mercer briefly shifted from wing to center for the first few games of his absence but was replaced down the middle by Erik Haula for Tuesday’s game after the veteran was cleared to return from an ankle sprain.

After making New Jersey’s opening-night roster, Nemec gets another chance in the NHL. He recorded an assist and a minus-two rating in nine games before a string of healthy scratches and an eventual reassignment to Utica in early November. The 2022 second-overall pick has 5-17–22 in 32 AHL games since his demotion, the best offensive showing of his three-minor league campaigns.

His recall comes after he expressed frustration about his extended AHL assignment to a media outlet in his native Slovakia last month. However, he said he hadn’t requested a trade out of Newark, and the Devils haven’t yet appeared willing to leverage him in a trade.

Someone will be playing on their offside tonight against Vegas, as Nemec gives them four righties and two lefties on the blue line. Johnathan Kovacevic is the only one of the former group to spend significant time on the left this season, per CapWages, so he’ll likely replace Siegenthaler in top-pairing duties alongside Dougie Hamilton while Nemec enters the lineup alongside either Brenden Dillon or Luke Hughes.

Nico Hischier Downgraded To Week-To-Week

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Devils captain Nico Hischier’s injury status has been downgraded to week-to-week, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Wednesday (including Gabriel Trevino of NJ.com). He has not played since sustaining an upper-body injury on a crosscheck from Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki last Saturday.

Keefe initially called Hischier day-to-day following the injury, which held him out of Monday’s loss to the Flyers. However, he left the team’s road trip to return to New Jersey to visit with team doctors for further evaluation. Evidently, it wasn’t positive news for the Swiss centerman, who will now miss another three games at minimum.

Past the halfway point of the season, Hischier leads the team in goals with 24 and has added 19 assists for 43 points in 51 games. He’s putting up career-highs in shooting percentage (17%) and average ice time (20:21), as well as winning 55.5% of his draws and logging a career-high 55.5 CF% at even strength. It’s been a dominant two-way campaign from the 2023 Selke Trophy finalist, one that could put him back in that conversation, assuming his absence doesn’t stretch out for too much longer.

It’s a difficult blow for the Devils, who are 4-5-3 since New Year’s and are already without starting goaltender Jacob Markström until around the trade deadline due to a sprained MCL. They’ve called to 28-18-6, decidedly third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Capitals and Hurricanes, and are now being chased by the red-hot Blue Jackets who are seven points back with two games in hand.

23-year-old Dawson Mercer shifts to center in Hischier’s absence with Erik Haula also on the shelf. The 2020 first-rounder has 23 points in 52 games, up only slightly from last year’s offensive pace.

Devils’ Nico Hischier Day-To-Day, Jack Hughes Banged Up

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The New Jersey Devils could soon be without their two top forwards. Captain Nico Hischier left the team’s Saturday night matchup against the Montreal Canadiens in the second period, after receiving a slash from Canadiens center Nick Suzuki. No penalty was called on the play, and instead Suzuki skated up the ice and recorded the primary assist on Montreal’s second goal. Now, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe has shared that Hischier could be out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.

Nichols also shared that Jack Hughes is, “less than 100 percent” due to a nagging finger injury. He suffered the injury partway through New Jersey’s Wednesday win over the Boston Bruins, exiting in the first period to get stitches in his finger but returning shortly after the start of the second. Hughes missed the team’s Friday practice to avoid risk of infection or further inflammation, but played in 20 minutes of New Jersey’s overtime win on Saturday. His status will be monitored closely as the Devils gear up for two weekday games against the Philadelphia Flyers.

There’s been no indication of whether or not the Devils top two centers will play on Monday. If they don’t, New Jersey will play their first game without the star duo in over two years. Despite routine injuries, one of the Devils’ star centers has found a way to stand at the top of the lineup – which would make matching absences incredibly tough to fill. Hughes and Hischier currently rank first and third on the Devils in scoring, with 57 and 43 points in 51 games respectively.

The only extra forward on New Jersey’s lineup is presently Kurtis MacDermid, who’s stepped into four games since the start of January. He doesn’t have any scoring through 19 games this season, which could force the Devils to look towards their minor leagues for meaningful fill-ins. Nolan Foote and Brian Halonen lead the AHL’s Utica Comets in scoring, with 25 points in 33 games and 24 points in 34 games respectively. Both players have served as injury fill-ins throughout the season, though neither has managed any NHL scoring in their spot starts. New Jersey could also turn towards Adam Beckman, who has 22 points in 29 AHL games and also managed two assists in 11 NHL games earlier this year. But none of those players bring natural center ability to the NHL lineup, likely meaning that any recall would need coupled with someone like Stefan Noesen, Ondrej Palat, or Dawson Mercer shifting into the middle-lane.

List Of Players Getting Trade Protection On July 1st

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In the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, the league players can procure three types of No-Move Clauses in their contracts. The only stipulations to these clauses are that the player in question must be 27 years of age or older and must have accrued seven years of service time at the NHL level. The three types of No-Move Clauses are as follows: No Movement Clause (NMC), No Trade Clause (NTC), and Modified NMC or NTC.

Per the current CBA, an NMC means that a player cannot be waived, assigned to minors, or traded without their consent, and they also must be protected in the event of an Expansion Draft. An NTC is straightforward — giving the player protection from being traded without their approval. Lastly, a modified NMC or NTC sets an arbitrary number of teams and a time frame when a player can use this protection. In just over a week, an assortment of players will receive trade protection on their current contracts, and CapFriendly has broken it down.

 

No Movement Clauses
D Charlie McAvoy (Boston)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina)
D Devon Toews (Colorado)
F Roope Hintz (Dallas)
D Gustav Forsling (Florida)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota)
F Jesper Bratt (New Jersey)
F Timo Meier (New Jersey)
G Ilya Sorokin (NY Islanders)
F Pierre-Luc Dubois (Washington)

No Trade Clauses
F Ross Colton (Colorado)
D Nick Seeler (Philadelphia)
D Vince Dunn (Seattle)
F Clayton Keller (Utah)
D Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay)

Modified No Trade Clauses
F Jordan Greenway (Buffalo) – eight-team no-trade list
F Tage Thompson (Buffal0) – five-team no-trade list
D Rasmus Andersson (Calgary) – six-team no-trade list
D Samuel Girard (Colorado) – nine-team no-trade list
F Miles Wood (Colorado) – six-team no-trade list
F Alex DeBrincat (Detroit) – 16-team no-trade list
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – 10-team no-trade list
F Nico Hischier (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
D John Marino (New Jersey) – eight-team no-trade list
D Jonas Siegenthaler (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
F Mathew Barzal (NY Islanders) – 22-team no-trade list
D Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – 10-team no-trade list
F Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay) – 16-team no-trade list
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg) – 10-team no-trade list

Nico Hischier Activated Off IR, On The Ice For Warmups

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The home crowd at Saturday night’s New Jersey Devils game was greeted with the surprise return of captain Nico Hischier, who has taken the ice for warmups. No announcement of Hischier’s return was made, although The Athletic’s James Nichols pointed out that he was noted as off of injured reserve on the NHL’s official website earlier today. The website also showed that forward Tomas Nosek was placed on injured reserve.

With no official announcement, it’s unclear if Hischier’s participation in warmups is a test for if he’s ready, or an official indication that he’s in the lineup. If he does play, he’ll be returning against the Buffalo Sabres. Hischier was hurt the last time that New Jersey faced Buffalo, taking a check to the head from Connor Clifton that earned Clifton a two-game suspension.

Hischier has faced a slew of injuries this season, only managing to appear in seven games this season. He’s scored two goals in those matchups, also tallying four penalty minutes and a -2. He’ll look to overcome his injury bug and right his season with a return to the lineup. The 24-year-old captain scored 80 points in 81 games last year.

Nosek’s appearance on injured reserve doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as he’s missed the team’s last two games. He’ll miss his third on Saturday, as he fights his way back from an upper-body injury. Nosek has no points, four hits, and three blocked shots in six games this season. Nosek is in his first season with the Devils, after spending the last two years with the Boston Bruins, who he totaled 141 games and 35 points with.

Injury Notes: Zadina, Hischier, Martin

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During tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Max Miller of The Hockey News reported that San Jose Sharks’ forward, Filip Zadina, will not return to the game tonight. The injury sustained by Zadina is undisclosed at this time, but the forward did leave partway through the second period of the game after playing in just over four minutes.

Signing a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Sharks over the summer, Zadina did not officially become a free agent until July 7th, after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Detroit Red Wings for the purpose of eliminating the final two years and $3.65MM left on his previous contract. After being drafted 6th overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, Detroit had tried and failed for several years to unlock his offensive potential.

Now with access to much more playing time, Zadina is actually off to a better offensive start than he was last season, scoring three goals and two assists in the first 19 games of the season. With a limited amount of talent on San Jose’s roster, Zadina has also been used on a subpar Sharks powerplay as well.

Other injury notes:

  • After being on the ice for practice yesterday, one of the notable missing pieces from the New Jersey Devils forward core tonight in the team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was captain Nico Hischier (X Link). The team does line up against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night, but it remains to be seen whether or not Hischier can return to the lineup. Since his last game on October 27th, New Jersey has fallen dramatically in the standings with a 4-6-0 record.
  • Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that Matt Martin did not travel with the rest of the New York Islanders to Ottawa as he is still suffering from an upper-body injury. This will mark the fourth consecutive game that Martin has missed, but he could return Saturday as the team returns to New York. In 14 games so far this season, strictly playing on the fourth line, Martin has scored one goal and one assist.

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