Overview
- The New Jersey Devils signed captain Nico Hischier to a five-year, $58.5 million extension that begins in the 2027-28 season and carries an $11.7 million average annual value.
- Hischier, the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, enters the new deal after a 2025-26 season in which he played all 82 games, led the team with 28 goals and finished with 66 points.
- Mehta made the announcement as part of early free-agency moves, and the team confirmed the contract on July 1, 2026.
- The extension secures a long-tenured leader for New Jersey but leaves key roster work undone, most notably finding a primary goaltending partner after the trade of Jacob Markstrom.
- The signing follows a busy offseason that included trades for draft assets and roster pieces such as the Simon Nemec and Markstrom moves, and it makes Hischier the franchise’s highest-paid player under the new terms.