Jesper Bratt smiles after a long season with playoffs ahead | Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Getty Images
The 2024-25 New Jersey Devils regular season is over. There will be more hockey as the Devils made the playoffs and will play Carolina in the first round. Before focusing on the postseason, the writers of All About the Jersey got together for the annual tradition of giving out awards for the regular season that just ended.
Yesterday was the official end of the 2024-25 NHL Regular Season. The
New Jersey Devils played their final game of the 82-game campaign at the Rock on Wednesday night. The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs await as the Devils will go to Raleigh to begin their first round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. As indicated by how the Devils played after April 5, the team was clearly looking forward to the postseason starting. Before we go all in on the postseason, we shall continue the annual tradition of handing out awards for the regular season that just ended.
In continuing with tradition, we have three types. We have major awards that mirror most of the ones the NHL focuses on. We have minor awards that are more specific to the Devils season. We have superlatives, which are offbeat things we have noticed throughout the season. Awards were submitted by Monday evening. They may not reflect the last two games of the season, which ended up not mattering much in the larger picture of the 2024-25 New Jersey Devils season.
I want to thank the writers for making their choices as well as supporting the site by writing for the People Who Matter all season long: James, Jared, Ian, Jackson, Nathan, Alex, Gerard, and Chris. All stats are as of April 15 unless otherwise specified.
Major Awards
Team MVP: Jesper Bratt
Jesper Bratt will finish the 2024-25 season as not only the Devils’ top scorer
but also one of the league’s top scorers with 88 points in 80 games as of April 14. Bratt set a franchise record for assists with 67, which is also among league leaders. Specifically fifth in the league as of April 14. When The Big Deal went down in Las Vegas,
Bratt continued to be a prime producer of points for a team whose offense has been sputtering since Christmas. In 5-on-5 hockey, his on-ice stats at Natural Stat Trick showed he was more than a guy getting on the scoresheet. He finished just behind The Big Deal in CF/60, fifth on the team in SF/60, fourth in xGF/60, third in SCF/60, and sixth in HDCF/60.
Bratt brought offense all season long and at a high level at that. Bratt was a key reason why the power play clicked so well
with and
without The Big Deal and Dougie Hamilton. He continued to kill penalties well as evidenced
by his on-ice xGA/60 of 7.76; only The Big Deal (slightly) and Erik Haula can claim a better on-ice rate among forwards. Bratt was a standout last season and earned the MVP award. He stood out so much that the writers collectively gave it to him again.
Voting Commentary: This was not unanimous. Three voted for captain Nico Hischier, who has also had an awesome 2024-25 season with 35 goals, 67 points, and 10 goals since the injury to The Big Deal.
Best Goalie: Jake Allen
Goaltending was addressed for this season with the acquisition of Jacob Markstrom back in June 2024. The Devils kept Jake Allen on as he had another season on his contract. It turned out to be a good decision. Allen had a pleasantly surprising season. He played in 31 games,
put up a 91.7% save percentage with a positive goals saved above average of 4.2 in 5-on-5 hockey, and
posted a 90.6% save percentage with a 5.13 goals saved above average in all situations. When Markstrom was injured on January 22, Allen was a key reason why the team did not freefall until his return. In fact, Allen was responsible for some of the team’s crucial wins, such as shutting out Montreal on February 8, beating Edmonton twice, and absolutely goalie-ing Columbus in Columbus on March 17 that kept the Blue Jackets from catching the Devils in the standings. Seriously, that game alone was ridiculous with
one goal allowed on 4.91 expected goals against from 90 attempts and 46 shots. It remains to be seen what the Devils do with Allen in this offseason as the 34-year old is a pending unrestricted free agent. In the meantime, he gets a second straight Best Goalie award at AAtJ.
Voting Commentary: This one was very close. It was a 5-4 split between Allen and Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom is seen as the team’s #1 goalie and his arrival did represent an upgrade over whatever you want to call last season’s goaltending situation. That said, Markstrom was real bad after returning from injury and that sunk his numbers enough to warrant this kind of a split.
Best Defenseman: Luke Hughes
Another repeat winner? Yes. This one was quite divided but Luke Hughes got the edge. How? His performances with Brett Pesce from when he returned from injury until Christmas were excellent.
Legitimate dominance in 5-on-5 with an on-ice xGF/60 of 3.26 and an on-ice xGA/60 of 1.92. Injuries to Jonas Siegenthaler and, later, Dougie Hamilton necessitated more and tougher minutes for Luke Hughes. This did not go as well and Luke Hughes’ on-ice rates suffered. Still,
he finished 2024-25 with positive values in CF%, SF%, and xGF%. While the Devils were outscored with Luke Hughes and Pesce, the issue was more of a lack of goals than too many against (2.24 GA/60 is not a lot). What did improve was the production. Despite missing games at the start of the campaign, Luke Hughes broke the 40 point plateau again, got hot on the scoresheet as he took over for Hamilton on the primary power play unit (
16 points since March 5, 9 on the power play), and he demonstrated his amazing edge work and handles. Yes, Luke Hughes still has to refine some of his reads and shots, but he does that to help break defenses down. Something his older brothers and other top defensemen do in this league. The 21-year old showed more than just flashes. He is a quality defenseman in this league right now. And he could get even better real, real soon.
Voting Commentary: Want to disagree with this one? Join the other writers. Luke Hughes won this with three votes. I split a tie where Jonas Siegenthaler also received three votes on the basis that Luke Hughes showed up in all three zones and played more whereas Siegenthaler was just amazing in one-and-a-half. Amazing, but limited. Dougie Hamilton received two votes. One vote went to Johnathan Kovacevic.
Best Offensive Forward: Jesper Bratt
As of April 15, after the team’s 5-4 overtime win in Boston, Jesper Bratt sat in between Mikko Rantanen and Nick Suzuki with 88 points. His assist total of 67 sat fifth in the NHL. In 5-on-5 hockey, Bratt had 41 points, putting him in a tie with John Tavares, Jake Guentzel, Adrian Kempe, and Ryan Donato in 34th in the entire NHL. He is also
one of two Devils to put up over 2 points per 60 minutes in 5-on-5 situations. For power play situations,
Bratt’s 34 points puts him in the top ten of the whole NHL in a tie with Leon Draisaitl and Jack Eichel. All while putting up on-ice rates among the best on his team for offense. It is Jesper Bratt.
Voting Commentary: Nearly unanimous. Two picked The Big Deal, Jack Hughes, who would have made this a fun race to the end for scoring. His on-ice rates were a bit better than Bratt’s. Alas, the injury happened.
Best Defensive Forward: Nico Hischier
Whether it is MSG or the organization pumping his tires, but Nico Hischier has been receiving the kind of reputation one needs to win a Selke trophy. I do not want to get into whether that is fully warranted with respect to the league. However, Hischier was the top defensive forward on the Devils this season. His competition was often tough.
Per PuckIQ, the WoodMoney method of quality of competition shows that 37% of Hischier’s ice time was against top-tier opponents and another 37.6% was against most of the league. He really did not get put out there to make fourth liners suffer.
This makes his quite good on-ice expected goals against rate of 2.43 look even better. Likewise with on-ice rates around 55 CA/60 and 25 SA/60 in 5-on-5. while other Devils had better rates, they often had far worse offensive rates. Hischier generally won his matchups in 5-on-5 play. He also continued to be one of the team’s primary penalty killers and
do well at that given the minutes he plays shorthanded. Hischier has earned his rep within New Jersey. It remains to be seen if the Professional Hockey Writers Association would agree for this season.
Voting Commentary: This was a unanimous selection.
Best Rookie: Seamus Casey
Unlike previous years, I decided that this would go to Seamus Casey before even asking the writers. Given the moves made by management for this season, the Devils had a lack of actual rookies on this year’s roster.
Seamus Casey was the only qualified rookie to play even more than five games, much less 13, with the New Jersey Devils. The other options would have been Shane Bowers (4 GP), Nathan Legare (3 GP), Brian Halonen (2 GP), and Daniil Misyul (1 GP, traded). Rather than wasting their time or yours, its Casey by default. The 7 points in 13 games were sweet even though he is not shooting 33% in the future.
Minor Awards
The Sergei Brylin Award for Versatility: Nico Hischier
The Devils captain continued to do it all for the Devils in 2024-25. Hischier continued to play in all situations with
over 1,000 even strength minutes, 200 power play minutes, 150 penalty kill minutes, and 10 minutes in overtime. Only Bratt can claim to play as many minutes at that - and he had six more games to do reach those minute marks. Unlike Bratt, Hischier had a variety of linemates due to performance issues of others or circumstances with the health of the lineup. In 5-on-5 hockey,
he played over 100 minutes with (in order) Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen, Kovacevic, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce, Siegenthaler, Brenden Dillon, Dougie Hamilton, Bratt, and Tomas Tatar. Hischier was used with plenty by Sheldon Keefe and his staff figuring that others could get boost from him. A sure sign of how versatile a player can be beyond the minutes and roles he plays.
Voting Commentary: Hischier won this with six votes. Jack Hughes, Tomas Tatar, and Stefan Noesen each received one vote each.
Best Comeback: Dougie Hamilton
While Dougie Hamilton’s regular season ended in the first period on March 4 in Dallas, he more than proved he recovered from the torn pectoral that kept him to playing about a quarter of the 2023-24 season. Hamilton’s defense may have been high-event to put it nicely, but
his offense was very welcome as his presence generally provided for as much as opponents put on him. Even without much of a slapshot, Hamilton still fired away with 182 shots. It yielded
nine goals in total and five on the power play to go with 31 assists in total and 10 assists on the power play. Hamilton was the main man on the team’s powerful primary power play unit and a go-to defenseman when the Devils needed some offense. 40 points in 63 games is quite good and
already secured him to have his second most productive season as a Devil. Given that largely drove his massive contract, that is enough to call it a comeback. Alas, the comeback was cut short. Hopefully, he is good to go for the postseason.
Voting Commentary: This one was another split. Hamilton, Noesen and Siegenthaler each had two votes. I gave the edge to Hamilton as his season was a bigger impact than Siegenthaler being a defensive stud and Noesen feasting on the primary power play unit to a career season. If you want to argue in favor of the other two, then so be it. The remainder of votes were one each for Kovacevic, Jack Hughes, and Luke Hughes.
Best In-Season Move by the Devils: Trading for Cody Glass
As much as I was
not happy with Tom Fitzgerald on March 7, there was one trade that worked out well:
the Cody Glass trade. Yes, Glass is a bottom-six quality center. But given the state of Erik Haula at the time, Justin Dowling, and Curtis Lazar, even a nominal upgrade would have helped. Glass was an upgrade with
two goals and seven points in 12 games to go with
solid 5-on-5 on-ice rates. What made this move also work out was the cost. The Devils sent
Chase Stillman, Max Graham, and a third round pick in 2027 for Glass and Jon Gruden. The Devils made an upgrade without giving up much of consequence. Good.
Voting Commentary: This one was a majority winner with seven votes. One was given to the decision to put Noesen with Hischier. One vote was for “Pfft.” That was the word given.
Worst In-Season Move by the Devils: Trading for Brian Dumoulin
As sick as his overtime winner in Boston was on April 15,
many did not like the trade for Brian Dumoulin. The move itself, made on March 6 before the
NHL Trade Deadline day, was confusing to read then as it is now. The Devils sent a second round pick and the rights to Herman Traff, whom the Devils drafted in 2024, to Anaheim for Dumoulin. Dumoulin is a 33-year old defenseman who is a pending unrestricted free agent. Which means the Devils are
renting Dumoulin. He pretty much does, at best, what Brenden Dillon does while not being as physical. His style is something that Kovacevic (his common partner since the trade) and Siegenthaler have excelled at earlier in this season. That said,
his on-ice rates since joining the Devils have been good if low-event. Which is kind of the issue. Even if he is shutting the opposition down, he is not helping the Devils attack and that has been the bigger need. I, personally, still stand by Jared’s description of the deal on March 6.
Voting Commentary: This won with five votes. The other four were split. One was given for
the Kovacevic extension that was announced on March 7. One was given for how Simon Nemec was handled this season. One was given for Brian Halonen being demoted and not recalled after two appearances. One was, again, “Pfft.”
Best 2024 Offseason Move by the Devils: Acquiring Jacob Markstrom
It was one of the worst-kept secrets that GM Tom Fitzgerald wanted a goaltender for the Devils last season. He did get two during last season but not the big name. Supposedly, there was a deal for Jacob Markstrom but it fell through due to Calgary’s ownership blocking the deal. On June 19, Fitzgerald would get him. The Devils traded their first round pick in 2025 and Kevin Bahl for Markstrom with Calgary retaining 31.25% of Markstrom’s salary. The trade has certainly paid off.
Markstrom may not have had as good of a season as Allen did given a flat 90% save percentage in all situations. It was still an upgrade over the
trio of Vanecek, Schmid, and Daws in 2023-24. The cost was not that much as Bahl was quickly replaced in free agency later that summer and the first rounder will be firmly in the middle of the 2025
NHL Draft. This was a good trade by Fitzgerald and it still looks good today.
Voting Commentary: This won by five votes with the other four splitting up. Two chose the signing of Brett Pesce, one of the more reliable defenders on the Devils blueline. One writer chose the trade that brought in Kovacevic. One writer chose the signing of Stefan Noesen.
Worst 2024 Offseason Move by the Devils: Extending Kurtis MacDermid
On May 17, 2024, Fitzgerald did this. This signing was absolutely terrible then. Some of the People Who Matter, perhaps wanting to be clever or funny, thought I was overreacting by calling this signing “needless.” In the first year of the three-season extension given to Kurtis MacDermid, the supposed enforcer did the following: 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 6 shots on net, 23 penalty minutes, an average ice time of 5:40, and three majors in 23 games played. He is not even the team leader in penalty minutes (Kovacevic), fighting (Dillon) or major penalties (also Dillon) either.
MacDermid appeared in one (1) game between February 2 and April 16’s season ender, wherein he played six shifts and contributed nothing of consequence. Nobody was protected. Nobody was made safer. Nobody on New Jersey was benefited by MacDermid playing. The only people who seemingly support him either call games for MSG Networks or think Don Cherry had some good ideas. This signing
sucked and it still sucks as I remind you:
he has two more seasons on his contract.
Voting Commentary: This won with five votes. Two writers chose the signing of Brenden Dillon, another contract that looks to age like milk instead of cheese. One writer chose the signing of Tomas Tatar. Which, yeah, that did not work out well either. One writer chose “None,” as he was happy with Fitzgerald’s work in the 202 offseason.
Best Surprise: Johnathan Kovacevic
I will admit that I did not understand it when
Kovacevic was acquired on June 30, 2024. I thought that he would be fighting for a depth spot with Nick DeSimone and Santeri Hatakka. I did not expect him to jump past them, usurp Simon Nemec, and slot in next to Jonas Siegenthaler so well that they were legitimately a top-tier defensive defenseman pairing for at least half of 2024-25. Kovacevic has had his issues with penalties, reads, most things for offense, and perhaps being without Siegenthaler. The last one may be a bit harsh as
Kovacevic is going to finish this season with an on-ice xGA/60 of 2.07 and an actual GA/60 that is even less than that in 5-on-5 play - which is superb. For a fourth round pick in 2026, Kovacevic clearly overperformed whatever low expectations I had for him to be an important part of the team’s blueline. He was set to get a big contract and he surprisingly got one on March 7 from Fitzgerald. This is not about that but it does speak to how much of a surprise Kovacevic was this season.
Voting Commentary: This was another tie I had to split up. Three for Kovacevic and three for Allen. I figured Allen got his due with the Best Goalie award so this could be Kovacevic. It does qualify, I do not think most expected Allen to be this good this season. Two votes went to Stefan Noesen,
who had a career season at age 32. One vote went to Nico Hischier’s goal scoring as he put up 35.
Most Disappointing: Simon Nemec
It has been a rough campaign for Nemec. He was injured while competing for Slovakia in Olympic qualifying games in August. This was a setback in training camp and preseason. While he made the Devils roster and was 100% to play, he struggled mightily on the ice. Nemec earned a demotion back to Utica on October 22. Between playing for a struggling Comets team, his own game, and frustrations with being in the AHL after spending so much of his 2023-24 in New Jersey, Nemec would not return until Siegenthaler’s injury in February. Even then, he struggled to stay in the lineup. Seamus Casey and Dennis Cholowski would get minutes over him. Nemec would get on the scoresheet a little but he showed little of the promising talent he had in 2023-24, much less what he showed when he was drafted second overall in 2022. It was a rough and difficult season for the young defenseman. Harsh as it may seem, disappointment is an accurate term for his 2024-25 season.
Voting Commentary: Seven writers out of nine chose Nemec. The two other votes were one each for Ondrej Palat and Tomas Tatar. And, no, the writer who voted for the Tatar signing as the worst 2024 offseason signing did not choose Tatar for Most Disappointing. Surprising to me, no one dared to write in “The Devils after Christmas 2024.” Maybe I should have.
Best Utica Comet: Brian Halonen
Utica had a bad season that began with an epic losing streak and Kevin Dineen being fired. Among the few highlights for the Comets was the play of Brian Halonen. While recently injured, he remains as Utica’s leading goal scorer (27) and shooter (140). He scored 9 PPGs and even a shorty. Halonen even showed some of the “tough stuff” in the ‘A.’ Whatever you saw of him, you could conclude that he really could fit in on a bottom six that became a black hole for the Devils as the season went on. Yet, Halonen was called up for just two games and that would be it. Fitzgerald saw it more fit to add depth at the deadline and give some others chances over Halonen and other Comets. Come on, you cannot tell me he could have not done at least as much as Nathan Bastian did this season. Anyway, Halonen has another season on his contract so it remains to be seen if he will get another call up next season. He did his best in Utica this season. Alas.
Voting Commentary: Halonen won this with five votes. Two writers went for Nolan Foote instead, one went for Seamus Casey, and one did not provide an answer.
Best Prospect: Arseni Gritsyuk
It has been hoped for and wished that Arseni Gritsyuk would come to New Jersey. While he signed with SKA St. Petersburg, he was intending to play out his contract and join New Jersey after 2024-25. SKA did make the playoffs and they were eliminated towards the end of the NHL season. Due to the KHL changing their rules on their contracts, the contract would end by the end of May. A buyout of the deal could be arranged for a quicker exit. Gritsyuk is 24 and so his entry level contract would only be for one season. To sign him, get him a visa, get him physically get over here, and throw him immediately into a playoff series would be asking
a lot for any player. Even an older prospect like Gritsyuk. The Devils appear to be taking a more measured approach to have him signed for next season where his cheaper salary can better fit the team’s budget and the pressure to perform will be much less. Still, I can understand the desire.
Gritsyuk finished fourth on SKA in scoring with 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games. That is five points behind Ivan Demidov (currently lighting it up for Montreal) and two behind Alexander Nikishin (whom the Devils may meet real soon) - two SKA players who played more games than Gritsyuk. He shot the puck a lot, produced in a league not known for producing a lot of points, and pretty much did all he could do at the KHL level. Expect the excitement for him - for next season.
Voting Commentary: Gritsyuk won this with six votes. Two writers chose Anton Silayev, the massive defenseman who played
significant minutes for Torpedo in the season and
in the playoffs. One writer chose Mikhail Yegorov, who made an impressive jump from a crummy Omaha team in the USHL to
helping (leading?) Boston University to win the Beanpot and go all the way to the 2025 Frozen Four Finals.
Superlative Awards
These are offbeat awards by the individual writers, identified by their initials. They’re not binding. They are for fun. It is how these award posts are closed out. Some of them were determined days before this post. Initials indicate who came up with what.
The Connor4Real Award for When the World is Catched by Your Phrase (JF): Steve Valliquette for “Instagram Hockey.” It joins “Lou’s Kool Aid,” “The trade is one for one,” and “We’re on a nine-game heater, I’d say we’re doing OK” for memorable Devils quotes.
My Favorite Wins (JF): All three out of the four games against Our Hated Rivals. If nothing else, the Devils made the playoffs in 2024-25 and crushed OHR in the process, hammering one of the last nails into their season on April 5, 2025 and making them suffer twice in 2024. Yes, beating Columbus twice in March was crucial. Beating Florida in November in consecutive games was great. But rivalries are always memorable, I truly hate Our Hated Rivals, and I cherish every won play, every defensive stop, every goal, every victory over Our Hated Rivals.
Most Improved Prospect Award (JT): Mikhail Yegorov. He’s been on a tear since starting his collegiate career and could be a real deal starter someday.
The 4th Annual “I’ve Seen Enough” Award (JM): To the player I don’t need to see or hear from ever again: Ondrej Palat. Who I like, but the Devils would be better suited using that $6M AAV on a forward who can put the puck in the back of the net
Best Fight (IM): November 12, 2024 - Brenden Dillon vs Jonah Gadjovich to get the boys going in a win in Sunrise.
Ken Daneyko Award for Most PIMs (AP): Jonathan Kovacevic. 70 penalty minutes in 78 games. Way to go!
The “But Why?” Award (GL): Tom Fitzgerald for Trading for Daniel Sprong and Dennis Cholowski. Trading assets for two guys who could have been picked up on waivers and aren’t NHLers? Brilliant! At least the Cholowski deal was contract for contract; the Sprong one was double dumb because it sent a pick in the other direction when again he could have been had for free.
Stepping Up Award (CF): For best player after team injuries, Luke Hughes.
The Hüsker Dü Prize (JF): Shane Bowers. I am not kidding you that he played in four games for the Devils this season. I cannot tell you a single thing he did in them. You probably cannot either. He did not even make it to the April 16 roster.
The 4th Annual “Ozzie Smith Falling into the Springfield Mystery Spot” Award (JM): Given to the player who has inexplicably vanished off the face of the Earth: Erik Haula. Although I do not know how inexplicable his dropoff is when he missed a decent chunk of time. Still, when you go two and a half months without a point, it hammers home how the Devils need an upgrade at the third-line center position long-term.
Best Shootout Move (IM): Jesper Bratt on March 31, 2025 to beat the Wild. His move against Vancouver the week before was similar and may have been filthier, but the Devils won this one.
I’ll Take That (AP): Luke Hughes. The first defenseman to win this award, Luke had 30 takeaways in 68 games.
Most Inconsistent Devil (GL): Paul Cotter. Geez did that hot start have a lot of us excited only for him to turn into an average at best player for most of the season.
Shutdown King (CF): Jonas Siegenthaler.
The “There Are Four Lights” Award (JF): A collective winner: Veteran Presence. Oh, how the Devils made themselves older, more experienced, and somehow worse at managing game situations, handling leads/deficits, and just plain getting going in games. I was told this was necessary. I do not believe the facts back that up. Special runner up: Anyone who claims the 2024-25 Devils are a young team.
The Devils had exactly five players under the age of 25 suit up for them this season: Jack Hughes (injured after 62 games), Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, Seamus Casey (spent most of season in Utica), and Simon Nemec (spent most of season in Utica).
The “I Don’t Blame You, I Blame the Person Who Hired You” Award (JM): Kurtis MacDermid, who did nothing of note in the 23 games he managed to get into this season. You too would’ve signed that three-year deal if it was presented to you, so I cannot get mad at MacDermid for taking that deal. But I can be mildly annoyed at the GM who gave him that deal and the team for keeping him on the roster the entire season.
Most Goalie’d (IM): November 27, 2024 - 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues. At five-on-five per NST, shots 23 to 12, scoring chances 21 to 13, and high-danger scoring chances 6 to 2 - all in favor of the Devils.
Physicality Award (AP): Paul Cotter. Incredible! Cotter had 235 hits in 77 games. Last season, Lazar won with only 146.
Should Be Looking for a New Team in 2025-26 Award (GL): Nathan Bastian. Honestly, he probably should have been looking for a new team this season with how awful his play has been. What the coaching staff saw to give him 57 games (and do not forget he missed a month injured) is absolutely beyond me.
False Reputation Award (CF): Daniel Sprong and his defensive play.
Most Likely to Win $10 in a Beauty Contest for Lipstick Application on Pigs (JF): The MSG Broadcast. The Devils were legitimately great until the turn of the calendar. The Devils were objectively bad in 2025 during the regular season. You would not know it from the constant rationalizations and appeals for positivity from Bill Spaulding, Ken Daneyko, Bryce Salvador, and Rachel Herzog. It bordered on delusion at times depending on the performances and the events your eyes could see. Maybe this should have been the “There are four lights” award.
Most Valuable Center (IM): Nico Hischier. He finished
second in the league in faceoff wins per NHL.com, behind only Sidney Crosby. The team was really lost at the position without him.
Dikembe Mutombo Award (AP): Brett Pesce. Pesce had 135 blocked shots in 69 games. Last season, Kevin Bahl won with only 100.
You Guys Are Getting Paid? Award (GL): Devils Development Staff. Something I want to delve into more this offseason is the Devils lack of prospect development, Outside of the players they could not miss on - and even that’s questionable now when looking at Simon Nemec - and Jesper Bratt, who have the Devils developed? What player has come through Utica and been polished into an NHL player? Like I said, this is something I want to look into more, but the Devils management should probably be looking into it before I do and with more scrutiny as well.
Most Refined Fourth Liner Award (CF): Tomas Tatar
The Core Four Certificate (JF): The Big Deal put up 27 goals and 70 points prior to his season-ending injury in Las Vegas. Nico Hischier was an all-three zones player and put up 35 goals. Jesper Bratt set a franchise record for assists and finishes the season among the top scorers in the league. Luke Hughes put up a second straight 40-point campaign in his second full season. There’s your Core Four, Sheldon Keefe. Coach around them. And tell Soft Tom to
build around them.
The “Maybe We Should Be Talking More About This Guy Being Part of the Future Going Forward” Award (JM): Cody Glass, who has looked very good since coming over at the trade deadline. He should be one of the Devils bottom six centers going into next season.
Most Valuable Missing Player (IM): Jack Hughes. Again.
Uncultivated Talent Award (CF): For biggest gap between puck talent and offensive output, Paul Cotter.
The “Fine, They Want This, Then They’ll Get This” Disgruntled Employee Move of the Season (JF): Sheldon Keefe putting
Dennis Cholowski out in overtime against Vancouver on March 24, 2025. Given the lack of mobile defensemen on the team, it was understood that Luke Hughes cannot play all five minutes of 3-on-3 hockey. This has led to appearances from Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, and most recently, Brian Dumoulin for a lack of an option. To see
Cholowski out there for nearly two minutes was clearly a message from Keefe to Fitzgerald to say, “Really, man? This is my depth?”
The “Do Something” Award (JM): Tom Fitzgerald. You do not have to wait until the deadline to make a deal, like you have the last two years, and you do not have to let millions and millions of dollars of LTIR go to waste. I checked with the league, and you are allowed to make trades in October, November, December, January, and February, with the one exception being the holiday freeze. Keep that in mind for next year in case the team goes through another two-plus month lull.
The Memorable One-Off In-Arena Moment (JF): I forget the exact game, but someone got on the camera on the big screen at the Rock and chugged a beer. The next someone did so through his shirt, lifting it up over his head. For the remainder of the game, every dude that got on camera had a go at trying to down a beverage through their top. Even a kid did it with a bottle of water. Did anyone attempt this feat of quenching thirst? No. But was it memorable? Absolutely. At least until a cookie won a race.
The “Off-Ice MVP” award, to the non-player in the Devils organization who posted an MVP-caliber performance (JM): Mrs. Fields. The Devils knew exactly the right time to get her in the win column.
Dessert Race MVP (IM): Mrs. Fields.
The “You survived my one-year grace period but now I’m going to start being critical of you too moving forward” Award (JM): Sheldon Keefe
The Underrated Devil of the Season (JF): Brett Pesce. He was a good defenseman this season without killing the offense. He played off Luke Hughes exceptionally well for two-plus months, and he was the kind of defenseman to help elevate the blueline instead of just force it to be mostly defensive and slowish guys. Unlike some, this season shows that his contract may age gracefully.
Hottest Streak of the Season (IM): Timo Meier in March. Again.
The “Hardest Part of Breaking Up” Award (JM): To the player who I like but its time for you to go: Curtis Lazar. I love the vibes and energy Lazar brings to the table. But vibes and energy only goes so far.
Softest General Manager (JF): Tom Fitzgerald. For a guy who made a point of it to make the team tougher, he chickened out of making moves to make the team better when the team was sliding from January onward. But you know I have written about this. Have a video of
the GM himself looking weak in trying to sell his moves as being productive. This is worse when you consider other GMSs in the league. Even Eric Tulsky was shrewd enough to not throw good money after bad and moved on from Rantanen right away. Even Chris Drury was bold enough to move players he did not like on his crummy team! Even Pat Verbeek demanded a prospect and a pick for an expiring contracted player - and got it thanks to Soft Tom!
Physicality Award (IM): Paul Cotter. Easily leading the team in hits and has had some good scraps this season too. The fight against the Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck in particular.
The “I forgot we stink at that too” Award (JM): The Devils, who are 0-for their last 14 when trying to turn a three game winning streak into a four game winning streak.
Superhero Goaltender Performance of the Season (JF): Jake Allen, March 17 in Columbus, 2-1 victory.
46 shots against, 90 attempts against, and nearly 5 xGF against. One goal allowed to crush Columbus’ chances of getting close to New Jersey in the standings. One goal allowed to be one of many losses that kept Columbus out of the playoffs in 2025.
The “Wait, did that really happen?” Award (JM): Given to the most random one-off of the season -
DJ Pauly C.
The Roman Reigns Ribbon for Devil Most Deserving to Declare to “Acknowledge Me” (JF): The Big Deal. His edge work and handling of the puck is not him trying to play hero but trying to break down opposition defenses and create passing lanes to teammates. You would think that after a 99-point season two seasons ago, leading the team in playoff scoring in 2023, and putting up 27 goals and 70 points before his injury, this would be understood. Alas, it is not. Well, no one is going to just
give respect so Jack Hughes is right to keep commanding it.
The “Sickos” award (JM): Me and anyone else who watched 82 games of this solid but incredibly frustrating team. I deserve a medal.
The Best Readers (JF): All of you who read All About the Jersey. You are indeed the People Who Matter.
Thanks again to James, Jared, Ian, Jackson, Nathan, Alex, Gerard, and Chris for their contributions to this season’s award voting. I thank all of the writers for contributing to this site throughout this failure of a season. The season is over. The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are next. Thankfully I can write that the New Jersey Devils are in it this year.
Once again, thanks to you for reading this site throughout the 2024-25 season. Please also have your say about this year’s awards in the comments, whether you agree or disagree with them and why. Thank you for reading.
