It’s never too early to give out some team awards. Two Fridays ago, the New Jersey Devils officially hit the quarter mark of their season. It’s been a great first 20-plus games, so let’s look at who’s performed the best with some quarter-mark awards.
Hart Trophy
Winner – Jack Hughes
Runners Up – Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt
The Hart Trophy is the award given to the player deemed to be most valuable to his team. The only Devil to ever win the award was Taylor Hall in 2018. With that being said, Jack Hughes has been the team’s most valuable player so far.
The fourth-year forward leads the team with 13 goals and 29 points. A great start for the 2019 first-overall pick.
Selke Trophy
Winner – Nico Hischier
Runners Up – Nathan Bastian, Jack Hughes
Nathan Bastian’s defensive underlying numbers are so impressive that he almost got this one. However, the Selke Trophy tends to reward both defense and scoring, giving Nico Hischier the edge.
Hischier is finally having a big-breakout season the Devils’ fanbase has been waiting years for with stout play in his own end as well as elite play in the offensive zone.
Norris Trophy
Winner – Dougie Hamilton
Runners Up – Jonas Siegenthaler, John Marino
This Dougie Hamilton is the player the Devils committed $9,000,000 to in the summer of 2021. He’s not only been fantastic offensively, but Dougie has stepped up his defensive game as well.
Hamilton was not an easy choice, however, as Jonas Siegenthaler was dangerously close to being the pick. John Marino had been terrific as well, though, his overall game does not rival Hamilton’s nor Siegenthaler’s.
Vezina Trophy
Winner – Vitek Vanecek
Runners Up – Akira Schmid
Vanecek has been elite thus far this season, picking up a stupendous .918 save percentage (SV%) and 3.46 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Those marks are one of the better in the whole league. Many fans said last year that all the Devils needed was some consistent goaltending to take that next step and Vanecek has certainly proved those fans right so far.
Worth pointing out, rookie Akira Schmid has been sensational. His 5-0-0 record and .949 Sv%, as well as a GSAx of 3.83. He made this very close.
Calder Trophy
Winner – Fabian Zetterlund
Runners Up – Akira Schmid, Alex Holtz
At the start of the season almost every Devils’ fan would have thought Alexander Holtz would be in this slot. While he hasn’t been terrible in his seven games, it would be a travesty for Fabian Zetterlund not to get it. His 13 points ranks fourth among all rookies, making him a candidate for the Calder Trophy for the entire league thus far.
The next closest wouldn’t actually by Holtz, it’d be the surprising Akira Schmid.
Player Struggling The Most Award
Winner – Mackenzie Blackwood
Runners Up – Michael McLeod, Brendan Smith
The Devils have lost four games this season and Mackenzie Blackwood may be single handedly responsible for two of them. Going into the season, the goals for Blackwood were to stay healthy and be more consistent. He somehow managed to ruin both of them in just eight games.
Taylor Hall Best Acquisition Award
Winner – John Marino
Runners Up – Vitek Vanecek, Erik Haula
Vanecek would be the pick here, but he already has an entire award dedicated to him, so let’s talk about John Marino. While his underlying numbers haven’t been incredible, they certainly haven’t been bad.
Marino has passed everyone’s eye-test, making a noticeable difference in all three zones every time steps on the ice. Well worth Ty Smith and a draft pick.
Worst Acquisition Award
Winner – Brendan Smith
Runners Up – Erik Haula
Brendan Smith was the team’s worst acquisition this past summer, but even he hasn’t been that bad playing on the third pair with Damon Severson. Besides some ugly penalties, Smith has been everything you can ask for in a veteran third pairing defenseman.
Blake Coleman Most Improved Award
Winner – Tomas Tatar
Runners Up – Dougie Hamilton, Dawson Mercer
What a start to the season it has been for Tomas Tatar. After disappointing out of the gate last season, Tatar has excelled this year. While playing with Nico Hischier surely has something to do with it, Tatar’s terrific analytics. These figures are arguably the best on the team. That along with his 49-point pace makes him an easy bounce back candidate.