At the beginning of the NHL season, the hockey world looks at the teams destined to be bad and starts watching the big names who might be moved later. For Minnesota Wild fans desperate to see their team land a center, the speculation seemed to focus on Dylan Larkin and Tage Thompson.
The problem is that no one really knows who will be good or not. Not really. Who thought that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets would collapse, for example? Or that the New York Rangers would be dead-last in the Eastern Conference?
It works the other way, too, which takes the Wild’s dream list off the board. The Red Wings are one of four teams with more points in the standings than Minnesota. Buffalo is making a solid push for its first playoff appearance in 16 years. Larkin and Thompson aren’t going anywhere.
So, who’s the new Holy Grail center for the Wild to pursue?
Robert Thomas is a strong, young, cost-controlled option, but he doesn’t quite have the cache of Larkin or Thompson. The rest of the names on the trade block involve old, formerly elite names like Steven Stamkos or Ryan O’Reilly, or low-end No. 1 centers on questionable contracts such as Nazem Kadri, Vincent Trocheck, or J.T. Miller.
We need a name with pizazz to hyperfixate on. Thankfully, Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic have come through for us. In their latest insider piece, they wrote, “We can see him calling on anybody from Robert Thomas, Trocheck, and J.T. Miller to Nico Hischier and Shane Pinto. Or even veterans such as Ryan O’Reilly and Claude Giroux.”
Nico Hischier? That’s a name that grabs you.
Now, it bears mentioning that “calling on” doesn’t mean that Hischier is realistically attainable, or even on the block. A former No. 1 overall pick, Hischier is the captain of the New Jersey Devils, and despite their struggles this season, they were expected to be a good team. Hischier is also just 27, and signed through next season, so there’s no huge rush to move on from him.
At the same time… the Devils are a low-key disaster right now and have been roughly since the Quinn Hughes trade. Coincidence or not, New Jersey is just 10-10-1 after missing out on the superstar (and brother to Jack and Luke), and is decidedly mediocre in their underlying numbers.
Starting goalie Jacob Markström is an .888 goalie, and that’s if you don’t count him getting tagged for nine goals in a game last month. General manager Tom Fitzgerald is under pressure, and a quick reset might buy him some time.
Is that a pipe dream? Sure. But let’s dream, shall we?
When the Devils came to the then-Xcel Energy Center last March 29, his presence brought the star power to a game that was missing Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Hughes. Hischier notched his second career hat trick, capped off with an insurance goal in the waning minutes of the third period.
It’s one game, but it was one in which Hischier showed the full extent of his toolkit. Not only did he score the hat trick, but he also controlled the ice all evening. He logged over 17 5-on-5 minutes (21 overall), out-attempting the Wild 21 to 12 when he was on the ice. Hischier dunked all over the Wild’s centers in the faceoff dot, taking 14 of 20 draws, which helped hold Minnesota’s power play scoreless.
Hischier might not have a physical superpower like Larkin’s speed or Thompson’s 6-foot-6 frame, but that doesn’t make him any less of a prize. Instead, Hischier might be best described as the answer to the question, What if Marco Rossi was 6-foot-1 and had a rush game?
Hischier has a Selke Trophy reputation — he finished second in voting in 2022-23, fourth last season — and excels at turning defense into offense with his brain. He’ll find the puck in the defensive zone with regularity and immediately start getting it moving up ice. When the Devils get to the offensive zone, Hischier shows a knack for finding the soft spots in defensive coverage and getting goals in the dirty areas.
It’s been a down year for Hischier (16 goals, 39 points in 52 games) after notching 35 goals and 69 points last year. Still, he’s one of the more reliable producers at 5-on-5 over the last half-decade. Since the 2021-22 season, Hischier is tied for 43rd (of 358 forwards with 2,500-plus 5-on-5 minutes) with 2.20 points per hour. That’s slightly more than fellow centers Brady Tkachuk, Mark Scheifele, Nick Schmaltz, and Elias Pettersson.
If the Wild land Hischier, they’d finally have a 1-2 punch at center that can put them over the top. Hischier and Eriksson Ek aren’t anyone’s idea of superstars, but two big-minute, all-situations, two-way centers are what’s required if you want to go toe-to-toe with the Western Conference. The Edmonton Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, of course. The Colorado Avalanche have two big, fast centers in Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson. The Dallas Stars are deep down the middle.
The Wild went to the playoffs last year with Eriksson Ek, some duct tape, and Rossi playing fourth-line minutes. In Minnesota’s last three playoff appearances, they took early series leads, only to be ground down over the series as their disadvantage at center caught up to them. Having Hischier and Eriksson Ek would mean the team is set for the long haul, taking a bunch of responsibility off the latter.
What’s that worth in a trade? The cost would be hefty. Hischier might be the only center who is theoretically available to be worth parting with two of the team’s three big pieces: Jesper Wallstedt, Danila Yurov, or Charlie Stramel. For a team that just took a bite out of their farm system for Hughes, ponying up for Hischier would mean all but wiping out their stock of blue-chip prospects.
Still, it’s hard to say that the price is too high for Hischier. It’s not even simply because Minnesota’s in win-now mode. Hischier is in his prime at 27, and “two-way center” is a player type that tends to age very well. However long the Wild’s window with Peak Hughes, Kaprizov, and Boldy might be, it’s a solid bet that Hischier will play at a high level for its entirety. At a premium position, that’s worth a ton.
Right now, there aren’t any indications that Fitzgerald, the Devils, or Hischier are moving on, and it’s still much more likely that Wild fans will be settling for welcoming someone like Trocheck for this year’s playoff run. Still, it’s noteworthy that Russo and Smith identified Hischier as a potential target. Now that they have, we finally get a dream scenario to replace the fantasies of trading for decidedly out-of-reach guys like Larkin and Thompson.