3 New Jersey Devils who could win awards in 2024-25
The New Jersey Devils are looking to have a big season after the disappointment that was last season. It could go so well that some players, like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, could end up at the NHL Awards.
Every year, Pucks and Pitchforks does a prediction about who could win awards. Some years is more obvious than others. Last year looked like it was obvious. Nico Hischier was second for the Selke Award, and the winner (Patrice Bergeron) retired. There was legitimate hype around a Jack Hughes MVP campaign, and it seemed like he was a lock for the Lady Bing.
We all know what happened next. The season went to hell. Jack Hughes kept going to the penalty box. EVERYONE got injured. Even Luke Hughes didn't have exactly the right season to be in the Calder Trophy race (even though he was in the top three).
This year, the Devils have expectations, but they aren't sky high. With that, the Devils have an opportunity to somewhat surprise, and usually those teams and players get the awards. Quinn Hughes won the Norris. Aleksander Barkov won the Selke. He's been in that air before, but he wasn't the favorite by any means. Connor McDavid did win MVP, but he is the best player in the world. So, where can the Devils win awards?
Hart Trophy - Jack Hughes
Yeah, we're doing this again. Do we think Jack Hughes is truly a Hart Trophy candidate? We think the conversation around his candidacy would be more prominent than most think.
Connor McDavid is going to the be favorite, and it's likely he will outpace the world by dozens of points, but even if he suffers a slight injury, it would open the door to the rest of the league. Hughes could use his speed to skate right through that open door.
Hughes making "the jump" past 100 points for the first time in his career, being the first Devils player in franchise history to do it, would create all the narratives he needs to be an MVP candidate. He finished eighth in Hart Trophy voting in 2023. He's on the minds of voters. Now, Hughes just needs to have an insane season and blow the Devils franchise record for points out of the water. We're thinking 120 points. It will absolutely help if...
Presidents' Trophy - New Jersey Devils
All of these awards predictions are more likely if the Devils are incredibly successful in the regular season. How successful could the Devils be this season? There are possibilities they could be very successful. There is a world where the Devils are the best regular season team in the entire NHL.
The Devils are dealing with a very... we'll say interesting Metropolitan Division. The only team everyone can agree is good is the New York Rangers, and a contract dispute with goaltender Igor Shesterkin could very well throw this season for a loop. The Devils and Hurricanes are expected to be good, but nobody would be floored if they miss the playoffs. The Islanders, Penguins, Flyers, and Capitals could literally be anything from second seed to last in the division and nobody would be surprised. The Columbus Blue Jackets seem like the team on the bottom, but as they are motivated to memorialize Johnny Gaudreau, so anything can happen there.
With so many question marks, it could leave the Devils in a position to bank dozens of points within the division is some of these teams are bad. The Rangers had 36 points from their Metropolitan opponents last season, including getting eight points from the Devils. They were .500 or better against every Metro opponent. Is it feasible that the Devils could do the same thing?
For the records and if the Hockey Gods are listening, this isn't a prediction. We are just talking about anything that could happen here. The Devils have a much higher likelihood that they miss the playoffs than them winning the Presidents' Trophy, but that doesn't take this milestone, which would be the first time in Devils history, off the table.
Nico Hischer - Selke Trophy
Nico Hischier was second in Selke Trophy voting a year ago. Last year, he finished 19th in Selke Trophy voting. Jesper Bratt also received a Selke vote. Both were nowhere near the top.
However, as we saw with Aleksander Barkov last season, one a player is in the Selke Trophy conversation, they have a hard time leaving the conversation. When Barkov won the award in 2021, he stayed in the convo despite falling to eighth in 2023. Hischier fell further in 2024, but he's still getting some residual votes despite the Devils season going to hell.
Hischier has been considered the Devils top-line center. The Devils likely will end up with one of Jesper Bratt or Timo Meier on his line. That will allow Hischier to get back to his 70+ point ways.
We all know that the Selke Trophy is a defensive award with offensive implications. While there are always better pure defensive forwards, the players who take home the trophy are often some of the biggest stars in the game. Hischier isn't exactly on that star level of Barkov or Bergeron, but he does enough on the ice to get into the conversation. If he gets back to 80 points, or even to a point per game, then he might just win this trophy.
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