The New Jersey Devils are in great shape going forward. They caught everybody by surprise in 2022-23 and were one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. Following an amazing regular season, they showed everyone they were for real when they defeated the New York Rangers in seven games. They lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2, but it was a fantastic run by a very young squad.
Some of the individuals on the team were given some recognition for how they played this year throughthe 2023 NHL Awards. Nico Hischier was nominated for the Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward. He ended up coming in second place only to Patrice Bergeron, who won his NHL record 6th Selke.
Nico Hischier was second in Selke voting, but Patrice Bergeron absolutely ran away with first-place votes.#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/V9Iu9pP0cJ
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) June 27, 2023
Bergeron is literally a perfect hockey player. He deserves it, but Hischier’s name will be back near the top of that ballet multiple times. There were a few other Devils that received Selke votes as well.
The New Jersey Devils had a lot of great recognition at the 2023 NHL Awards.
Jack Hughes was nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy. Like Hischier, he came in second place. He doesn’t take a lot of penalties or mix it up out there while scoring tons of points. He was the runner-up to Anze Kopitar for his efforts. You can probably assume that Hughes will be on this list again. Nico Hischier even got some votes, finishing ninth with three second-place votes and nine third-place votes. Jesper Bratt finished 12th, and someone even voted him as their winner.
Lindy Ruff had his name in as a nominee for the NHL’s coach of the year. Yes, like his two superstars, he came in second place. Jim Montgomery won as the coach who led his team to the greatest regular season in NHL history.
Dougie Hamilton came in 6th place for the Norris Trophy, and Jack Hughes came in 9th for the Hart Trophy. Erik Karlsson and Connor McDavid won those awards, as most expected. Of course, anyone outside of the top three isn’t considered nominated.
It is amazing to see the New Jersey Devils have all of these votes on their side. This was in a year that they just started to win too. These guys are just at the beginning of their successful run. The Devils will continue to be represented at the NHL Awards for years to come.