New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier earned a couple of first-place votes and a ninth-place finish in Selke Trophy voting.
The New Jersey Devils have had an elite two-way forward in Nico Hischier for a long time now. Since becoming the number one overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, he has developed into the type of center who can change the game in all three zones.
Over the last handful of years, Hischier's offense has been up and down, but he's always going to have between 25-35 goals and 65-80 points. He doesn't cheat for offense, but he still finds ways to contribute.
Hischier's highest finish in the Selke Trophy voting was in 2022-23 when he came in second place to Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. He had 80 points, the Devils were near the top of the league standings, and everything went right for him that year.
It hasn't been to that level since, but he has still been one of the league's top centers. On Friday, it was revealed that Hischier finished 9th in Selke Trophy voting for 2025-26. He earned 2 first-place votes, 10 second-place votes, 7 third-place votes, 5 fourth-place votes, and 9 fifth-place votes.
Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens won the award in a landslide, earning 151 first-place votes. The next closest was Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning with 10 first-place votes.
Hischier was the only Devils player to receive a single vote for the Selke Trophy. He would tell you that he needs to be better than he was in 2025-26, which was still a solid season for him. If the team around him is better, he may get back into true contention to win the award. Without the points and team success, it's difficult to be recognized.
New Jersey has offensive-first players like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt up front. Hischier is more than capable of being that guy, but they need him to maintain his two-way mindset if they are going to become a playoff contender again. That alone will always have him as a potential winner of the Selke Trophy.
If 2026-27 ends with Hischier closer to first place than to 9th in this voting, that would mean the Devils were a significantly better team.
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