Let Captain cook: It's time to unleash Nico Hischier

CJ Turtoro argues Lindy Ruff and the New Jersey Devils would be smart to ramp up Hischier's usage moving forward.

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By CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil)

Jack Hughes has, at times this season, been as high as No. 2 in the Hart Trophy odds. He’s on pace to shatter the New Jersey Devils’ single-season point record and, at his best, is arguably the most exciting player in the world. And this is an article about how he’s the second best center on his own team.

…

I’m kidding. Kind of. It’s only at 5v5 that he’s the 2nd best center. It’s not his fault he plays on the same team as Nico Hischier.

Current usage

Nico Hischier has been used as the No. 2 5v5 center on the team for most of the season, and is arguably now becoming the No. 3 center at 5v5 with Michael McLeod’s usage recently skyrocketing.

Part of this is certainly because of special teams usage – Hischier now is often used instead of McLeod on the PK in addition to his original PP1 duties alongside Jack – but part of it is also because Ruff has systematically underused him.

On the season, Nico Hischier plays just 13:26 of even-strength ice time on average. This is only 15 seconds more than McLeod and almost four fewer minutes than Jack. After clearing 19 minutes a game over the last two seasons, he’s not even at 18 minutes a game so far this year.

Given how well McLeod has been performing, and the fact that Jack is Jack, this might not seem to be a big problem to anyone. Let me explain why that’s wrong.

History of dominance

The most 5v5 minutes should go to the guy that makes the most consistent impact in that state. And, at even-strength, Nico Hishier is the most consistently dominant weapon in the Devils’ arsenal.

RAPM is a statistical technique used to determine the impact a player has on various metrics (goals, chances, and shots) and the only centers in the NHL that beat Nico in both goals and expected goals are Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Aleksander Barkov. His 200-ft impact on goals – real or expected – are consistently great. In fact, he’s had a better impact than Jack in both for all of the past three years.

McLeod is actually higher than both this season so far, but I don’t think it will require too much arguing to convince readers that, before this season, McLeod had not really established himself as an elite-impact center close to the same caliber as the other two.

When you account for their personal history, the projected impact of these three skaters on shots and chances has a pretty clear winner.