It’s been a long time since a New Jersey Devils player or coach has taken home one of the NHL’s end-of-season awards. The last Devils winner came after the 2017-18 season, when Taylor Hall captured the Hart Trophy. The last time the club had a finalist was in 2023, when Nico Hischier was up for the Selke Trophy and Lindy Ruff finished as runner-up for the Jack Adams.
That’s the backdrop for a season that could finally put the Devils back in the awards mix. New Jersey is expected to push back into the playoff race, and if the team exceeds expectations, a few names could enter the conversation in a real way.
Jack Hughes is the obvious Hart Trophy candidate. He’s entering his seventh NHL season, and the storyline around him is familiar: the ceiling is enormous, and the question is whether he can finally put everything together over a full year.
That means more than simply getting past 100 points. It means looking like the best player on the ice night after night and forcing his way into the Hart discussion.
Health remains the biggest hurdle. Hughes has only completed one full season in his career, and staying available from start to finish is the first requirement.
After that, he’d need to show he can produce at the level of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov. That’s a tall order, and the source is clear that it’s doubtful he reaches that level.
Even so, the setup around him is strong enough that a career year is on the table, especially if Luke Evangelista or Anthony Mantha helps unlock more from his game.
Nico Hischier has a more realistic path to the Selke Trophy. He already made it to finalist status in 2023, when he posted the best season of his career and drew wider recognition as a high-end two-way center. His defensive impact has dipped somewhat since then, but he remains one of New Jersey’s most reliable players without the puck.
For Hischier, the formula is straightforward: he’d need a standout season that tops his 2.9 defensive point shares from 2022-23, and the Devils would likely need to finish as a top-two or top-three team in the Metropolitan Division. The award picture also helps him.
There isn’t a clear favorite right now. Aleksander Barkov, a three-time winner who took it in 2024 and 2025, is returning from a torn ACL, while last year’s winner, Nick Suzuki, has to prove he can repeat.
Anthony Cirelli and Sam Reinhart are also in the mix, which leaves room for a surprise run from Hischier.
Sheldon Keefe is another Devils figure who could work his way into award talk, though his situation comes with more pressure than comfort. There’s even a real possibility that New Jersey has a different coach by season’s end, and the source notes that a midseason replacement could also emerge as a Jack Adams candidate. That’s how hot the seat is.
Still, Keefe has a path to the award if the Devils deliver. This is a prove-it season for him, a chance to show he still has the creative edge that made him a coach worth hiring in the first place.
If he can get maximum value out of a new-look roster and guide New Jersey to a strong season, he’ll have a case. But because the Devils making the playoffs may be viewed as the expectation, he may need something bigger - a division title or a top-three finish in the Eastern Conference - to stand out enough for the Jack Adams.
Then there’s Sunny Mehta, who was hired as general manager and immediately drew attention. He made several offseason moves and could put himself on the radar with more work, especially if he lands a major trade deadline splash. A move for someone like Connor Hellebuyck or Quinn Hughes would make his first year impossible to ignore.
Even so, the Jim Gregory Award is a tough hill for him to climb. The vote comes from other general managers, and that matters.
They tend to reward big deadline moves and people they already respect, which is part of why Jim Nill won it three straight times. Mehta is still a young GM without the same standing as some of the league’s more established executives, so while his time could come later, this season looks like a long shot.
The same goes for Daniel Briere, who the source says has a close-to-zero percent chance after the Leo Carlsson offer sheet, which has made him unpopular around the league.
In Other News...
Devils Center Plans Could Be Delaying A Key Breakout Forwards Deal
The Devils center search has been one of the quieter themes of the offseason, but it has carried real weight as Sunny Mehta reshapes the roster after taking over for Tom Fitzgerald. New Jersey has already made a series of notable moves, including trades involving Jacob Markstrom and Simon Nemec, while also adding multiple forwards in an effort to balance the lineup and deepen the middle of the ice.
That focus has also spilled over into contract planning for Cody Glass, who gave the Devils a useful scoring boost with 20 goals last season and is still without a new deal. League chatter has tied his situation to New Jerseys attempt to chase Barrett Hayton from the Utah Mammoth, and with Glass headed toward unrestricted free agency next offseason, the timing could matter just as much as the player. How the Devils sort out the center spot may end up shaping not just the lineup, but one of the more important forward negotiations on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Dawson Mercer Suddenly Faces A Devils Role That Could Define Him
The Devils spent the offseason reworking their attack, bringing in Anthony Mantha and adding Luke Evangelista and Evan Rodrigues in a trade to deepen the forward group. In the middle of all that change sits Dawson Mercer, a player who has been one of the lineups constants since his NHL debut and has offered steady offense along the way. Now he is projected to slide to right wing on the third line with Rodrigues and Arseny Gritsyuk, a spot that looks different from the kind of all-purpose role he has held before.
Mercers value has never really been in doubt, but his place in the Devils forward puzzle suddenly is. With the roster deeper and the competition for ice time tougher, this could become the kind of assignment that says a lot about how the team views him going forward. If he settles in there, it will help answer whether he is still being developed as a key piece or simply asked to fit into whatever role best supports the new look around him. [Read more 🡒]
Devils May Have A Top-Line Answer Worth Waiting On
The Devils second preseason game against the Rangers offered a first real look at what their main lineup might look like when the games start to matter, and Anthony Mantha was right in the middle of it. Fresh off his two-year deal with New Jersey, he has been placed alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, a combination that immediately carries intrigue because of the skill on either side of him and the pressure that comes with trying to fit into a top line.
Early preseason reps are often more about feel than results, and this one appears to fall into that familiar category for New Jersey. The Devils are still sorting through line combinations, and Manthas fit with Hughes and Bratt may take some time to settle in, but the upside is obvious enough to make the wait worthwhile if the chemistry comes. [Read more 🡒]