Devils' Nico Hischier Expecting Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23

New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is sick and tired of missing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's been four straight hockey seasons over after 82 regular season games and Hischier is hoping the fifth time is a charm.

The 23-year-old captain is coming off a fine season, recording 60 points in 70 games. He recently met up with NHL.com's Tom Gulitti and had this to say about his expectations:

I do believe. I think we can surprise. I do believe we have a good team, and I'm excited if we stay all healthy to see how dangerous we can be. I learned also it's not easy to make those playoffs. My first year, you go with the flow, you don't really think too much. And the last four years showed me, no, it's definitely not easy to win consistently in that league. We're a young group and we've got to see what (Palat) does. He definitely can help us out a lot because if you can take things out from his experience, the best case is we're going to be that Tampa team at some point. Understand that an 82-game season can't always be perfect and it's about when you lose two or three games, that you go back on a five-game winning streak or something like that. Don't slip out of the race.

The Devils had a great offseason as general manager Tom Fitzgerald was active and very aggressive. He offered the Calgary Flames the second overall pick for Matthew Tkachuk, which of course was turned down, but at least it showed to the team and the fan base, Fitzgerald was going to do what he could to improve the hockey club.

Vitek Vanecek stops Andreas Johnsson on the door step - Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The Devils ended up signing Ondrej Palat to a long-term contract, traded for goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals, swapped Pavel Zacha with Boston Bruins forward Erik Haula and acquired defenseman John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ty Smith. A total re-tool on the fly and Fitzgerald should be applauded for his efforts.

New Jersey is an up-and-coming team who may arrive in 2022-23. They'll look to forget their 27-46-9 season from a year ago and try to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.