New Jersey Devils' Awards for the 1st Half of the 2014-15 Season

Though the New Jersey Devils have had a rough season so far, some individual performances are worth celebrating.

There have been strong overall performances from Adam Henrique and Jaromir Jagr, comeback seasons for Scott Gomez and Jordin Tootoo and strong rookie campaigns from Damon Severson and Keith Kinkaid. 

This list will choose midseason award winners for the Devils in the following categories: Comeback Player of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year, Best Defender, Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.

Comeback Player of the Year: Scott Gomez

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Scott Gomez celebrates a goal against the New York Islanders.

Scott Gomez spent the first two months of this season practicing with the team and skating on his own, hoping that circumstances would align for general manager Lou Lamoriello to offer him a contract. 

With an injury to Travis Zajac, Gomez got his wish on December 1. In 20 games since signing, he has four goals and eight assists.

His 0.6 points per game rate is his best since 2009-10 and second-best on the team, behind only Adam Henrique. 

Gomez has spent much of his time since signing as New Jersey's top-line center, and he is currently playing between Jaromir Jagr and Adam Henrique. The trio may be the closest thing the team has had to a clear-cut first line all season.

This has been an incredible turn of events for a player who has played no more than 46 games in any of the last three seasons and averaged less than a point every three games in that time.

An honorable mention goes to Jordin Tootoo, who spent the majority of last season with the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate. He has three goals this season, but more importantly, his physical play has sparked the Devils on more than one occasion over the course of the last month.

Breakout Player of the Year: Adam Larsson

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Adam Larsson makes a physical play along the boards against the Detroit Red Wings.

Adam Larsson, like Gomez, did not start the season as a New Jersey Devil.

He spent the first two weeks of the season in Albany with the Devils' AHL affiliate, playing his first NHL game of the season on October 21 against the New York Rangers. That night, he only played 12 minutes, 30 seconds.

Former coach Peter DeBoer had always been slow to trust the young Swede. Larsson played 65 games in his rookie season under DeBoer in 2011-12, but played only 37 games at the NHL level in 2012-13 and only 26 in 2013-14.

The majority of Larsson's time during those two years was spent in the AHL, with DeBoer looking for the young defenseman, who had been drafted largely on his offensive potential, to work on his play in his own end. 

But all that time in the AHL seems to have paid off. 

During November, Larsson showcased his improved defensive skills, and DeBoer rewarded him with additional ice time.

Before Larsson contracted the mumps, he was playing anywhere from 16 to 22 minutes per night.

Since the new coaching staff took over, he has gotten even more playing time, due to increased trust and injuries to other players.

In each of the Devils' five games since January 1, Larsson has played at least 20 minutes. In the absence of Damon Severson and Peter Harrold, Larsson has joined Andy Greene on the team's top defense pairing.

Both coaching staffs have shown trust in Larsson not only by giving him added minutes but also in how they've utilized him. He has been on the ice for the highest rate of faceoffs in the defensive zone on the team: 41.9 percent.

Larsson has repaid that trust. He has only a minus-three rating despite being asked to defend more than any other player. Also, while he has been on the ice, the team has faced the exact same number of shots as it has taken.

Best Defender: Andy Greene

Andy Marlin/Getty Images

Andy Greene moves the puck out of the defensive zone.

Andy Greene does not get many headlines. He has never been an All-Star. He has not represented his country in five years. 

He is by no means a flashy player; however, he is New Jersey's best kept secret and without a doubt the team's top defenseman of the first half of the season.

At even strength, Greene has been asked to play against top opponents every night. Some nights, particularly since the injury to his original partner Damon Severson, that results in struggles. Four times this season, he has been a minus-two or minus-three in a game. 

But those rough patches are the exception, not the rule. 

Greene's plus/minus this season is minus-two, which is remarkable given how difficult his task is, especially with how much the Devils have struggled to get the puck through the neutral zone.

He has been equally influential on the penalty kill. 

Early in the season, New Jersey asked Bryce Salvador to be the team's top penalty-killing defenseman. The results were catastrophically bad.

Since Salvador's injury, Greene has taken over that role, often playing 90 seconds or more during a two-minute penalty. The team's penalty killing has improved more than 10 percent since the change.

The result of Greene's prowess at five-on-five and short-handed is a ton of ice time. The 32-year-old averages 23:32 and 29 shifts per game. 

Additionally, he has 10 assists, second-most among Devils defensemen.

An honorable mention goes to Marek Zidlicky, who is not particularly adept in his own defensive end but has 19 points. He has played in all 44 games and averages 22:28 per night. 

Rookie of the Year: Damon Severson

Andre Ringuette/Getty Images

Damon Severson celebrates a goal with teammates.

Damon Severson has little competition on the Devils for this award, but that does not take away from how strong his play was before he suffered an ankle injury.

Severson's 12 points (four goals and eight assists) are still second among Devils defensemen, but his play was about much more than his offensive ability.

At 20 years old, he averaged 23:01 per night, 39th-most in the NHL and most among rookies. He played on the power play, the penalty kill and on the top defense pairing with Greene. 

He did all of this while the team was still coached by DeBoer, who tended to be slow to trust young defensemen. Severson earned the trust of the coaching staff in training camp with his strong defensive play, and he will give the team a huge boost when he returns.

It has been four weeks since Severson left the lineup, and while his estimated time of absence was four to six weeks, Tom Gulitti of the Fire and Ice Blog tweeted on Monday that Severson is still using a walking boot.

An honorable mention goes to Keith Kinkaid. He has only started five games this season, but his 2.16 goals-against average and .924 save percentage are stellar. He has become a reliable backup goaltender for New Jersey. 

Most Valuable Player: Adam Henrique

USA TODAY Sports

Adam Henrique has a discussion with Jaromir Jagr on the bench.

In a season characterized by erratic attacking play, Adam Henrique has been perhaps the only consistent Devils forward. 

He is second on the team in points with 24 and second in goals with 10. His 0.65 points per game is best on the team.

The consistency of his scoring has been more important to the team than its raw quantity. Only once this season has Henrique played three straight games without registering a point. 

His willingness to play either center or wing on a team that has dealt with numerous injuries and illnesses has given the Devils and their coaching staff much-needed flexibility. Currently, Henrique is playing as a winger on the team's top line with Gomez and Jagr. 

His offensive numbers are strong, but just as strong is his defensive play. Henrique is the only top-six forward on the team with a positive plus/minus (plus-one). 

An honorable mention goes to Jagr, who leads the team in assists with 16 and points with 25. While his offensive play has stayed strong, his defensive play has let the Devils down. 

Jagr has a minus-10 rating and 36 penalty minutes compared to Henrique's eight. 

These two have been the team's top forwards this year, but Henrique's smart defensive play pushes him ahead of Jagr in the midseason MVP race.