The All About the Jersey Awards for the 2017-18 New Jersey Devils

No matter what happens next, the 2017-18 regular season was a total success for the New Jersey Devils. Many, including myself, thought the Devils would be in the basement of the Metropolitan Division after last season. Now, the Devils are preparing for a first round matchup in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Call it an over-achievement. Call it a function of the stars aligning in the right way for the team. Call it a big step forward as the Devils are building their way back to being a contender. Call it what you will. The Devils made the playoffs.

Since there are a few days between the season ender in Washington and the playoff opener on the road, let us look back at the season that just occurred with an annual tradition on this site: player awards. As we have done in past seasons, we applied some the major player awards in the NHL, created some of our own, and took a vote as to who was the most deserving. We also came up with some fun superlatives from last season. The voters were myself and the other writers at All About the Jersey. I hope you enjoy who we chose for each of these awards. Let us know whether you agree or disagree with our selections in the comments; and please feel free to add your own superlatives. Thank you in advance for reading this post and reading this site. Thankfully, the Devils are not done playing hockey yet so there will be more games to write and react to in the coming weeks.

(Note: All awards were decided before the April 7 game in Washington.)

Major Awards

Team MVP: Taylor Hall

The pithiest explanation for Taylor Hall winning award is this: he’s the only New Jersey Devil receiving buzz for the Hart Memorial Trophy. As in, MVP of the entire National Hockey League.

Hall was the leader and the face of the 2017-18 Devils. He played with pace, oozing skill and excitement in the avast majority of the games he played in. He registered a point in every game in 2018 except for four. Hall amassed a 26-game point streak from the start of the calendar year and finishing his season with a nine-game streak before the home closer against Toronto. Hall finishes the season as the Devils’ leader in production: goals (39), power play goals (13), assists (54), shots (278), power play points (37), and overtime goals (3). His 93 points dwarfs #2 on the team in scoring, rookie Nico Hischier and his 52 points. Hall put the team’s offense on his back this season and the numbers reflect this.

It’s more than than just points. Consider this stat. Out of all skaters who played at least 200 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey, only five skaters finished the season with a CF% above 50% according to Natural Stat Trick: Will Butcher (third pairing defenseman), Ben Lovejoy (third pairing defenseman), Stefan Noesen (depth right winger), Miles Wood (depth right winger), and Taylor Hall (first line left winger). Unlike the other four, Hall often went up the league’s best and the Devils managed to out-attempt, out-shoot, out-chance, and out-score them in 5-on-5 play. All this and he’s also sixth in the whole NHL in points.

Of course, you saw Hall’s name and went “duh.” Anyone who saw any number of Devils games could tell you that Hall was the best and most important player this season. Hall is the Devils’ Superstar. Hall is the team’s MVP

Voting Commentary: This was unanimous. As it should be.

Best Goaltender: Keith Kinkaid

It is a surprise, but it is true. Keith Kinkaid ended up finishing the 2017-18 season as the better goaltender. He effectively took the #1 job in March when the Devils needed wins to stay ahead of Florida in the standings to secure a playoff spot. Kinkaid did just that. He was shelled in doing so and while there were some not-so-great games or results, he provided them. It is remarkable that, per NHL.com, Kinkaid ended 2017 with an abysmal 88.8% even strength save percentage but in 2018, he posted a 92.2% in even strength situations. The wins he picked up in 2017 were in spite of his play in net. (Aside: He was actually quite good on the PK, a 93.3% in 2017 and a 88% in 2018 - both above average.) The wins he picked up in 2018 were because of his play in net.

I could understand someone looking at the whole picture and raising an eyebrow. Kinkaid’s season statline is a not-that-impressive 91.4% even strength save percentage per NHL.com. If you check out the goalie stats at Corsica (assuming the site works for you), his 5-on-5 save percentage ranks 51st out of 79 goalie who played 200 minutes last season with a 91.76%. His Goals Against Saved Above Average was -0.78, or just below what an average goalie should do. That speaks to both how Kinkaid had to play so great in 2018 to get to “just below average” for the season and the whole goaltending situation in New Jersey. Is goalie that can be described by an outsider as average or below average really be the best? Yes it is. As he was the guy to take the throne as the Devils secured their first playoff spot since 2012, he won this award.

Voting Commentary: This one was also unanimous. Keep this in mind for a later.

Best Defenseman: Sami Vatanen

The biggest deal made in 2017-18 season for the New Jersey Devils was to acquire Sami Vatanen for Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi. In February, it was clear why the deal was made as the blueline was showing real improvement since the deal was made. By effectively replacing Vatanen with Santini as Andy Greene’s right-side partner on defense, which often saw the toughest and most difficult matchups, the Devils made gains after a start of the season where the defense was lit up on a nightly-basis. The month of March was not good for the defense. Still, Vatanen helped improve a defense that needed it. It also gave the Devils another option among right-sided defensemen.

Just as importantly, Vatanen provided some offensive support. In 57 games with the Devils, he finished the season with 13 5-on-5 points (third on the team), 28 total points (second on the team), and 124 shots on net (second on team). Keep in mind that Vatanen did not get to play much on the first power play unit in addition to playing fewer games than Butcher and Damon Severson. While Butcher’s numbers were better overall, he was used in more limited situations. Vatanen was used early and often; he finished the season to lead the blueline in average ice time of 22:44. Vatanen was a big pickup and, as such, he demonstrated it by doing plenty in difficult situations on defense.

Voting Commentary: This one wasn’t unanimous. There were two votes for Greene and one for Severson. Still, 7 out of 10 isn’t bad.

Best Offensive Forward: Taylor Hall

Go read the Team MVP section again. It will explain all that you need to know about how he won this one.

Voting Commentary: Like the team MVP, this was a unanimous choice.

Best Defensive Forward: Blake Coleman

This was a tight vote, but the speedy pest from Texas wins this award. Coleman thrilled many with his many, many, many jaunts on the penalty kill. He ate up a lot of clock with his forechecking and his attempts to go at goal. In fact, according to Natural Stat Trick, Coleman finished second to Michael Grabner in the entire NHL in total shots on the penalty kill with 23. Three of those went in for goals. The offense plus being a key member of a team penalty kill that finished tied for seventh in success rate (81.8% per NHL.com), third in attempts against (94.9 CA/60 per Natural Stat Trick), and eighth in shots against (52.68 SA/60 per Natural Stat Trick) means that Coleman was one of the most dangerous penalty killers in the league.

Of course, Coleman was also stingy as a forward in 5-on-5 play. According to Natural Stat Trick, Coleman has the second lowest attempts against, shots against, chances against, and high-danger chance rates on the team among regular-playing (200+ minutes) forwards. Only Stefan Noesen bested him in the first three categories; which makes sense as Coleman and Noesen played together quite a bit in 5-on-5 play. By the end of this season, they were centered by Travis Zajac as a line that took on some tough match-ups with varying levels of success. But Coleman has been a good defensive forward on the Devils all season long and the PK work (which Noesen does not get) puts him over the top. This is an impressive turnaround over someone who was just a guy on the ice in 2016-17!

Voting Commentary: I voted last and ended up breaking the tie between Coleman and Travis Zajac. Zajac would have been more a stretch but given his usage, I can understand the thinking behind it. There was also a vote for Nico Hischier, which may be true - in the future. Speaking of Hischier...

Best Rookie: Nico Hischier

When the Devils won the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, it was a big deal as the Devils could decide between Nico and Nolan. Nico turned out to be absolutely what the Devils needed. Hischier not only stayed at the NHL level all season long, but he was playing significant minutes at center right from the get-go. He more than just hung with Hall. He went into the corners and to the net to win battles and make plays. He made entries himself and in support to make offensive rushes dangerous. He more than just backchecked, he got involved in making plays. Hischier put in a season good for any NHLer. For a 19-year old, it’s marvelous as it can be a sign of things to come. Hischier finished the season with 20 goals, 180 shots, and 52 points, finishing third, third, and second on the team in those categories respectively. According to Hockey-Reference, 20 goals puts him tied for seventh all-time among Devils rookies and his 52 points are sixth most in franchise history - the most since Adam Henrique put up 51 in 2011-12. If only the Devils could have put him on a functional power play unit (Hischier had 6 power play points); the production could have even been more.

Of course, it’s more than just points. While he didn’t crack 50% CF%, Hischier finished with at least 49% CF% and SCF% and did break 50% SF% per Natural Stat Trick. This is all very good seeing as he saw a lot of the same tough competition as Hall. It means that when the rookie was out there, the Devils tended to play well and not get wrecked in the run of play. Always a good thing to see from a young rookie. Additionally, Hischier was also an effective penalty drawer as he led the team with 35 penalties drawn per Natural Stat Trick. To put that in perspective, Hischier himself only took 13 and only nine players in the entire NHL drew more calls than Hischier. The larger point is this: Nico Hischier contributed in a lot of ways in his first NHL season. He is a star in the making. As such, he was the team’s best rookie.

Voting Commentary: This was not unanimous. Will Butcher got one vote. No, it wasn’t from CJ although he made a great case for Butcher in this post which had a different intention in mind.

That last game of the season summed up Cory Schneider’s 2018. He entered the game with a slightly better 5-on-5 save percentage as Goals Saved Above Average than Keith Kinkaid. A bunch of free shots from the slots and five goals against later and Kinkaid is the statistical leader too. Schneider was actually doing really well in the 2017 portion of the season. But he faltered, he got hurt, and he did not really recover his form.

Miscellaneous Awards

The Sergei Brylin Award for Versatility: Travis Zajac

While 2017-18 turned out to be a great season for the Devils, the start of it was not so for Travis Zajac. He missed preseason and the first month and a half of the season with a torn pectoral injury. Yet, Zajac was thrown into his role of do-a-lot-and-do-it-well at forward. Zajac played in all situations as per the ice times at NHL.com. He averaged at least two minutes per game on the penalty kill, he was often the center on the first power play unit, and he did average 13:43 at even strength play. The rise of Hischier meant that Zajac often played on a second or third line. His wingers were in flux due to injuries and performance issues. While other skaters thrived more on the penalty kill or the power play or even strength, few Devils actually played as much as he did in all three situations. Therefore, he is a fitting winger for the Brylin this year.

Voting Commentary: Zajac took this with five votes. Two went with Coleman, one named Hall, one named Kyle Palmieri, and one ballot abstained. While two ballots named Zajac, they did note that they could have went with Jesper Bratt - someone who did get ES, PP, and PK time - had he not hit the rookie wall hard.

Best Comeback: Ben Lovejoy

I explained in the ballot that this award was for someone who had a bad 2016-17 and went an had a better 2017-18. Ben Lovejoy ended up as the winner and he fits that statement to a ‘T.’ Perhaps the coaches should be the ones really receiving the credit as they mercifully moved Ben Lovejoy from the first pairing next to Andy Greene to a third pairing role with Will Butcher - when Lovejoy played. Yes, Lovejoy was scratched early on in this season only for him to earn his role on the team with his good performances next to Butcher. Look at his player page at Natural Stat Trick and scroll down to On-Ice and marvel at the gains. His CF% jumped from a terrible 43.8% to a 52.3%. His SA/60 dropped by nearly four. His SCA/60 (scoring chances against) dropped by at least three. 2017-18 saw some more offense from Lovejoy as his individual shot and attempt rates went up. Yes, Lovejoy was given more limited minutes and favorable matchups. That’s what he needed and he performed well in that regard. He went from being an albatross on the blueline and causing some fans (like me) to hope he’d be jettisoned from the team to someone that fits in well and does not mind him playing at all in his spot for another season. That’s a big comeback.

Voting Commentary: Lovejoy did not win this by a majority. The other votes were splits. Miles Wood got my vote and one other’s. Going from a CF% worse than Luke Gazdic to finishing just above 50% in a season is remarkable on top of nearly scoring 20 goals and demonstrating an understanding of how to play defense is a big improvement. While he was not bad in 2016-17, Hall’s monster 2017-18 gained him two votes. Keith Kinkaid only got one vote, even though he made one crucial in-season comeback. One person abstained.

Best In-Season Move by the Devils: The Sami Vatanen Trade

As you may expect, acquiring the player who would be named the AAtJ Best Defenseman for 2017-18 would be the best move within the season. It’s not that Ray Shero did not make any moves. But this one was a big deal at the end of November and it worked out. Given that Adam Henrique went on to have a good season with Anaheim (20 goals, 36 points in 57 games), the deal worked out for both sides.

Voting Commentary: Like the Best Rookie vote, this was not unanimous by one vote. The exception was the Patrick Maroon trade. Maroon has been a very good pick up for a little bit of not much spent by New Jersey. We’ll see if Maroon sticks around though (I hope he does).

Best 2017 Offseason Move: Signing Will Butcher

The date range for this award was from April 10, 2017 to October 1, 2017. The move that turned out for the best was the signing of college free agent defenseman Will Butcher. Colorado effectively burnt the bridge of Butcher, who they drafted in 2013. Butcher went on to have an outstanding career with the University of Denver, captaining them to a National Championship in 2017 and winning the Hobey Baker Award in 2016-17. He was a hot free agent with the hopes that he could contribute at least offensively to any team’s blueline. The Devils won his services on August 27, 2017.

Butcher has made an instant impact on the team. He was given third-pairing minutes at even strength while being the lone defenseman on the first power play unit’s 1-3-1 formation. His passing skills were functional and productive as Butcher put up five goals and 39 assists in 81 games in his first NHL season. 23 of those 44 points were on the power play. To put that in perspective, per NHL.com, Butcher’s 44 points is the most by any rookie defenseman in the NHL this season and finished tenth among all rookies. Also according to NHL.com, Butcher’s 23 power play points is only surpassed by likely-Calder winner Mathew Barzal’s 27 power play points. As CJ wrote last week, Butcher has performed so well in the run of play that he arguably deserves more ice time (I agree too). The Devils were hoping for a boost from this free agent signing and they got that and more.

Voting Commentary: Butcher being signed took six out of ten votes. Three went for Nico Hischier being drafted, which does count as an offseason move. An argument can be made for that. Eventual Masterson winner Brian Boyle being signed got one vote.

Worst 2017 Offseason Move: Signing Jimmy Hayes

I guess it says something that the worst move of the offseason was bringing in a veteran winger on a professional try out as depth, signing him, and then only playing him on an as-needed basis. The team needed right wingers and so Jimmy Hayes got a shot in training camp to be one of them. He earned it and then promptly showcased why he was not signed by anyone else last season. In 33 games, Hayes put up 37 shots, three goals, and six assists while averaging 11:55 per game. Per Natural Stat Trick, Hayes finished sixteenth out of sixteen forwards who played at least 200 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time in CF%, fifteenth in SF%, and sixteenth in SCF%. Basically, when he was on the ice, the opposition put up plenty more attempts, shots, and scoring chances than the Devils did. Hayes did not play much and did not contribute a whole lot. The good news is that the coaches did not keep throwing him out on the ice in the hopes that he’ll show something or repeat a good thing he did here and there. It was only a minor signing for depth and it did not work out, so it was not that big of a loss. That’s telling of how well Shero did in the 2017 offseason.

Voting Commentary: Hayes won this with five votes. The Mirco Mueller trade - that’s Mueller for New Jersey’s second and fourth rounder in 2017 - came in second. The signings of Brian Strait and Drew Stafford picked up a vote each. One vote stated the new jersey designs. I can agree with that one.

Most Pleasant Surprise: Jesper Bratt

Sixth round draft picks are darts thrown at a very tiny dartboard. Jesper Bratt was the Devils’ sixth rounder from the 2016 draft. After a season with AIK in Sweden’s second division in hockey, Bratt came to the prospect development camp in the 2017 summer. Bratt’s speed and hands immediately made him a stand out. In training camp and preseason games, Bratt displayed awareness as to how to use those hands and quickness with others to great effect. Bratt earned a NHL roster spot and even played on the first line with Nico Hischier and Taylor Hall for quite a bit in the 2017 portion of the season. He even played on the first power play unit (!) and on a regular penalty killing unit. Whereas there were expectations for Hischier and Butcher, Bratt was a huge surprise. The Devils had three rookies contributing significantly as the team rose up the standings.

Bratt hit the proverbial rookie wall hard in 2018. His spot on the top line was replaced and Bratt struggled to get going with any consistent production or performance. Still, he played 74 games, put up 35 points, and for a small 19 year old winger, that’s a good start as any to a NHL career that few thought he would have. His next few seasons will be crucial as to what he could be in this league, but the most positive surprise about it is that he’s here at all.

Voting Commentary: Bratt won this with three votes. Votes were just split. Blake Coleman and Brian Gibbons each got two votes. Both would have been worthy. Coleman was just a guy in 2016-17 and became a contributor. Gibbons was a tweener and showed he can be an effective fourth liner when he wasn’t shooting above 30% for two months. Will Butcher received a vote. Two non-players got votes, but are certainly deserving of being pleasant surprises: Hall’s 26-game point streak and the Devils playing meaningful games in March and April.

Most Disappointing: Cory Schneider

Cory Schneider was not supposed to be here and if this was January 1, 2018, he wouldn’t. He would arguably be the best goaltender. He was one of the reasons why the Devils were sitting in a guaranteed playoff position at the turn of the calendar. He was showing that, no, being 32 is not too old to play goaltender - especially not in a league with Luongo, Lundqvist, and Fleury to name a few.

Then Schneider’s 2018 came and it was horrible. The team slumped as a whole in January and Schneider was injured in a game against Boston. Schneider returned from injury but his performances never did. Not that it was all his fault - it never is always a goalie’s sole fault - but the team needed wins and performances and Kinkaid was providing them. Schneider posted a 92.7% save percentage at even strength in 2017; but in 2018, Schneider posted an 87% save percentage at even strength. That’s just bad - even worse than Kinkaid’s 2017 percentage. The final game against Washington, which sent Schneider’s GSAA below zero and dropped his 5-on-5 save percentage below Kinkaid’s, summed up how his 2018 went. Even though Caps were getting free shots in the scoring chance area and there was traffic and so forth, the team played like he needed to make all of those saves. He didn’t. While his season numbers aren’t really much worse than Kinkaid’s (his even strength save percentage is a thousandth better), Schneider finished 2017-18 badly and the expectation for Schneider is to be much better than Keith Kinkaid or the average goalie. To that end, his 2017-18 ended up being a disappointment - despite how good the first three months were.

Voting Commentary: Schneider won this with five votes. The other five were split between three players. Two picked Drew Stafford. Granted, he was signed late in the offseason for a reason, but the expectation was that he could provide some scoring depth. He provided a whopping eight goals and 102 shots in 57 games. That’s not a lot. Two picked Steve Santini, who went from drowning in the run of play next to Andy Greene for about a half-season and then being demoted to Binghamton where he has been forgotten about. One person picked Marcus Johansson. Cruel as that may be, when Johansson was healthy, he was not exactly a stand out player even though his point-rate was not bad at 0.48 per game (14 in 29 games).

Best Binghamton Devil: Jacob MacDonald

In a new award, I’ve promoted the best minor league player to this level. The best Binghamton Devil as selected by the group is defenseman Jacob MacDonald. After a fruitful loan with Albany, the AHL team signed him to a two-year deal. MacDonald has responded with a very productive season in Binghamton. The defender contributed 20 goals and 35 assists in 72 games - he is the team leader in points. He’s second to Nick Lappin in shots with 178. He was also represented the B-Devils’ at the AHL All-Star Classic with captain Bracken Kearns. It remains to be seen whether he’s on New Jersey’s radar for a NHL contract, but this season should certainly help that cause.

Voting Commentary: The points drove the voters to pick MacDonald over Lappin, 7-2 with one abstaining. I did ask Jeff Ulmer, who writes about Binghamton here at this very site, for his opinion. He chose Lappin by stating the following:

The best Binghamton Devils’ player is without a doubt forward Nick Lappin followed by defenseman Jacob MacDonald in a close second. Lappin has taken his play at the AHL level to the next step which is gunning for the big club next season. His tenacity around the net is a given which came with often success with wild exhilaration after scoring one of his team leading 30 goals on the season, along with a good attitude as a role model for some of the younger players on the club.

MacDonald lead the team with his offensive output in assists (33) and points (52) but his defensive skills still needs some work as another year in Binghamton should do it before he makes the next step.

Best Prospect: Jeremy Davies

I’ve also promoted the best prospect to this level of awards as well for this year. Northeastern defenseman Jeremy Davies ended up winning the plurality. The defender put up nearly a point per game pace with 35 in 36 games. He was named to the Hockey East First All-Star Team as well as the NCAA East’s First All-American Team. Plus, Davies represented Canada at the Spengler Cup. It was a big year for the seventh round pick from the 2016 draft. Perhaps he will be the next surprise out of that class like Bratt.

Brian, who writes about prospects regularly on this site, had this to say as he selected Davies:

It was nice that this decision was a really tough one to make this year. While prospects like Michael McLeod, Jesper Boqvist, Joey Anderson, Colby Sissons, and Reilly Walsh deserve recognition for their play and potential, I feel it’s appropriate to select Davies for this award. He was an absolute monster for Northeastern this season, playing a ton of minutes in all situations every game, producing offensively on a consistent basis, and taking a step forward defensively this season. His skating and puck moving ability makes me think he’s not too far off from playing in the NHL, though it appears he’s going back for his junior season. Devils fans should remember this name.

Well said.

Voting Commentary: Davies did win this one with three votes as others split things up. One was a bit off the mark, such as the one vote for John Quenneville. But Michael McLeod did get two votes, Joey Anderson did get a vote, Colby Sissons got a vote, and Reilly Walsh received a vote as well. Those four were other names Brian mentioned as those being in contention for various reasons. McLeod turned it up in time with Mississauga. Anderson did not produce as much but he captained the U.S. to a bronze medal at the WJCs on top of being a big part of Minnesota-Duluth’s run for another national championship, Sissons put up a ton of points as a defender, and Walsh had a fine freshman year with Harvard. Still, Davies was very impressive at the college level. I hope he’ll get a contract soon.

Superlative Awards

Offbeat awards by the individual writers, identified by their initials. It’s a fun way to close out these awards:

Most Memorable Consumption of Pickle Juice During a Hockey Game (MS): Blake Coleman

Moment Most Likely to Make You Wonder If It’s a Little Dusty in Here or If Maybe Someone is Chopping Onions Nearby (NP): Making an appearance for the second season in a row, Patrik Elias number retirement.

Best Moment (DR): Patrik Elias Jersey Retirement

The Hüsker Dü Prize (JF): Kevin Rooney - Yes, he actually played a game. No, I could not tell you why he played a game. Runners up: Blake Pietila and Nick Lappin.

The Fourth Annual Ilya Bryzgalov “Why You Have To Be Mad” Award (GL): Travis Zajac - Usually, this award goes to a Devil who gets mad about the team not using him, even though he has been playing poorly. Our previous winners were Michael Ryder, Eric Gelinas, and Michael Cammalleri. For this year’s winner, I’ve chosen Travis Zajac just so we can see this glorious moment against dangerous player, Radko Gudas, once more:

Please Come Back in 2018-19 (GL): Patrick Maroon - Can you say “fits like a glove?” Throw a reasonable amount of money at him and hope he wants to come back to a team he’s actively helping win games.

Favorite Game to Attend (JF): February 3, 2018 - Devils 3-1 over Pittsburgh. The Pens did not show up for this one and it was a joy watching Kris Letang play one of the worst games of his life as the Devils rolled on them. Runner up: April 3 against Our Hated Rivals.

Best Former Waiver Pickup (MS): Stefan Noesen.

Best Goal of the Season (NP): Brian Boyle scoring a PPG on Hockey Fights Cancer Night.

Best Goal (DR): Nico Hischier against the Flyers with about a minute and a half left in regulation.

Best Goal by Taylor Hall (JF): Hall taking on three Islanders and sniping the puck top-shelf against the Isles on March 31.

Best Goal (DY): Blake Coleman’s one-handed backhanded goal while falling against Pittsburgh.

Most Unlikely Goal of the Season (JF): Brian Gibbons’ 3-on-5 rebound put-back against Toronto on October 11, 2017:

Devils Team Most Likely to Put You in the Hospital Because of a Series of Heart Attacks (NP): 2017-18 New Jersey Devils

The Memory Hole Award (JF): Steve Santini - From the first pairing to “Oh, yeah, he’s in Binghamton, what happened to him?” all within one whole season.

The “Wishing that playoff overtime was 3 on 3” Award (MS): John Moore

Best Wrong Preseason Prognosticator (DR): Dom Lucszcusydfasdnfjansdkfjnasdf of the Athletic

Please Don’t Come Back in 2018-19…or Ever for that Matter (GL): Drew Stafford and Jimmy Hayes - I don’t care how poor our right wing depth might look on paper; we have a better chance with Marcus Johansson and/or Jesper Bratt on their off wing than these two coming back.

The Best Readers (JF): You.

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Thanks to Steve, Brian, Gerard, Nate, Dan, Devin, Nick, CJ, and Mike for their contributions to these awards with an assist to Jeff for the Binghamton award. I thank all of the writers for contributing to this site all season long. We don’t plan to go anywhere. There’s more hockey left to be played! And, after, an offseason full of analysis, prospect posts, free agency posts, and more is ahead. But first, there is the playoffs. Expect a series preview to be up later today. All the same: hockey never stops at All About the Jersey.

Thanks to you for reading all of this way. Again, please have your say about the awards in the comments.