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Devils Players Who Could Win Awards in 2023-24

After a historic 49-point turnaround in 2022-23, the New Jersey Devils suddenly have a target on their back. After years in a rebuild, the Devils have finally turned the corner to becoming contenders. And with that comes an array of talent. The Devils have high-end talent in every position and are ready to take the next step to superstardom. When the NHL Awards roll around in the summer of 2024, there may be a few within the organization that are favorites for the big awards. This past year Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Lindy Ruff all finished second in their award voting. If the team and players continue their upward trajectory, many of those second-place finishes will turn into first-place wins.

Devils Potential Award Winners

Jack Hughes: Hart

After finishing eighth in Hart voting last year, Jack Hughes is primed to win this award soon. The talent was always there, but it finally all came together for him. As the undisputed face of the franchise, Hughes scored a career-high Devils franchise record 99 points. A point total that still seems low given how dominant he was. It would come to no one’s surprise if he doesn’t blow that number out of the water next year. The talent around him continues to get better, and a 115+ point season could be on the horizon.

What could complicate things is his competition. The rest of the league has to go up against the superhuman that is Connor McDavid. However, Hughes is the shiny new toy in the MVP conversation, which could sway voters. If he has another season of career-high production and leads the Devils into the playoffs, it would be difficult to deny him of the award.

Nico Hischier: Selke

Patrice Bergeron’s reign is over and the Nico Hischier Selke era has officially begun. Bergeron won back-to-back Selke’s and six total over his career, but the Bruins legend finally announced his retirement. After finishing second in Selke voting last year, Hischier finally got the recognition he deserves for his two-way game. Playing as the top-line centre, he has regularly gone up against the best competition. In addition, he is solid in the faceoff dot, winning 53.9 percent of his draws, and ranked 11th in 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage according to Natural Stat Trick.

Hischier’s offensive numbers have also taken a massive upswing over the past two seasons. Last year he boasted career highs in goals (31), assists (49), and points (80). Since entering the league he has been the Devils number one centre, and his game has rounded out nicely into what looks similar to the man whose award he is after, Patrice Bergeron.

Luke Hughes: Calder

The hype surrounding defenseman Luke Hughes has been on a 45-degree incline since being taken fourth overall in 2021. After two outstanding seasons at the University of Michigan, Luke got his first taste of NHL action at the end of the year. In his brief action, he registered two points in two games, including an unforgettable overtime goal in game 82.

There figures to be a strong crop of rookies competing for the award in 2023-24. His former teammate Adam Fantilli of the Columbus Blue Jackets will be up there, as will Buffalo Sabers goaltender Devon Levi who shined during his brief sting last season. However, the clear hurdle for Hughes will be first-overall pick Conor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks. The 18-year-old has been dubbed the best prospect since McDavid and all eyes will be on him. That being said, Bedard is playing on a very poor Blackhawks team that will look to him to be their leading scorer, which could set him up for failure in year one.

For Luke, he will have the opportunity to play top four and heavy powerplay minutes on one of the best offensive teams in the league. He will have plenty of chances to show off his offensive from the backend while being sheltered early defensively. Most notably, Hughes stood out as the Devils best defenseman in Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes. He showed off his elite skating and transition game, while also making a handful of veteran defensive plays. If Hughes can put up gaudy offensive numbers while playing big minutes for a playoff team, it may be hard to deny him the award.

Vitek Vanecek: Vezina

Yes, you read that right. There needed to be one hot take on this list and Vanecek is the one. Not many people expected Linus Ullmark to have the season of a lifetime and post the numbers he did. Before last season, the two goalies put up similar numbers since Vanecek’s debut in 2020-21. Ullmark had been a solid, slightly above-average starter in the league before breaking out last year. Over the past three seasons, Vanecek himself has been a solid, slightly above-average starter in this league who has breakout potential.

The discourse around the Devils is that their goaltending is an issue. Most of this stems from Vanecek’s poor playoff performances. However, his regular season has been very solid. His 2.45 goals against average and .911 save percentage were all career highs on a young Devils team.

Now that they have broken through and are firmly in the contender conversation, this team is ready to take that next step. With that next step comes better play from key positions, and none are more important than the goaltender. If the Devils want to become the top team in the league, they’ll need Vanecek to step his game up another level. If he’s able to do so, an Ullmark-like season is not out of the question for Vitek Vanecek.

Main Photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Natale

Nick Natale

Nick is a former hockey player now turned sports journalist. A Journalism graduate from Ramapo College of New Jersey, Nick is an avid New Jersey Devils fan who's made it his life goal to make a career out of talking sports. Find him on Twitter @NickNatale10

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