End of Season Awards for the 2014-15 New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils' 2014-15 season is over, and once again the Devils have failed to make the playoffs. There is a lot of negativity and criticism around New Jersey at the moment, as well there should be, but the team's disappointing overall performance should not detract from the impressive individual performances seen from certain Devils players.

Players like Michael Cammalleri, Andy Greene, Steve Bernier and Cory Schneider deserve praise for their excellent play this season, even if it was not enough to carry a mediocre team to the playoffs.

This article will distribute awards to the Devils' top players in a variety of categories. We will first look at the Unsung Hero and Players' Player awards, usually decided via a team vote by New Jersey's players. This year, however, general manager and interim head coach Lou Lamoriello decided not to award these honors to any player.

Other awards will include Defenseman of the Season, Forward of the Season, Young Player of the Season, Comeback Player of the Season and Most Valuable Player.

Unsung Hero: Steve Bernier and Players' Player: Scott Gomez

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Scott Gomez converts on a penalty shot, one of the most unexpected ways he contributed this season.

Since Lamoriello decided not to hold award voting this season, Tom Gulitti, who covers the Devils for The Record and runs the blog Fire & Ice, took matters into his own hands, saying:

"

So, because the Devils decided not to give out their awards, I decided to poll the players myself over the past few days and do an unofficial, unauthorized version. I did not include late-season call-ups in the polling because they only were with the team a short time, but the other 22 players on the active roster that were on the trip to Tampa Bay and Florida all voted for at least one of the three awards – Most Valuable Player, Unsung Hero and Players' Player.

"

With the players' opinions out in the open, it would be silly to neglect to note whom they believe is most worthy of praise. New Jersey's players chose a Most Valuable Player, but as that is the biggest award of the bunch, I have saved it for last.

The Devils named Steve Bernier the team's Unsung Hero of 2014-15. Bernier's strong physical play has always been appreciated by his teammates, but his career-high 16 goals surely caught their attention even more this year.

Gulitti added that Andy Greene was a close second behind Bernier.

The players chose Scott Gomez as the Devils' Players' Player. This award is given to a player who shows dedication, perseverance and strong on-ice and locker room leadership. 

Gomez started the season without a contract, skating with the team in New Jersey and on his own when the Devils went on the road. After three massively disappointing seasons in Montreal, San Jose and Florida, Gomez returned to where his career began, determined to make it back to the NHL again.

Injuries opened up a roster spot for the Alaskan, who signed a contract before the Devils' 25th game of the season. Though he played in only 58 games this season, Gomez led New Jersey in assists and was fourth on the team in points. 

His teammates were impressed by that dedication, but also his leadership, particularly in how he tried to impart knowledge on younger players, Gulitti said.

Defenseman of the Season: Andy Greene

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Andy Greene gets physical in front of the goal with David Backes of the St. Louis Blues. It is often Greene's job to do the dirty work against top players.

While there were some strong performances from the Devils' growing corps of young defensemen this season, there is little doubt as to whom New Jersey's best blueliner was during the 2014-15 season—Andy Greene. 

Greene may be the lone experienced defenseman on the Devils' opening night roster next season, and the team could not ask for a better player or leader. 

He played in all 82 games for the Devils this season, the second straight year in which he has played every game. Each time, Greene played in New Jersey's top defensive pairing, so he faced his opponent's best players on a nightly basis. 

The result? He had a plus-one rating, which was second-best among Devils defensemen with more than 25 games.

Greene also had only 20 penalty minutes. The only Devils defensemen with fewer penalty minutes this season were Peter Harrold and Seth Helgeson, who when combined played only 65 games.

Greene also played 20 or more minutes in all but three of New Jersey's games this season.

In other words, Greene managed to be on the ice for more even-strength goals for than against and committed only ten minor penalties in 82 games, despite constantly facing top-level opposition while playing on a mediocre team.

He also had 19 assists, which was second-best among New Jersey defensemen and fifth-best among all Devils skaters. 

Honorable Mention goes to Adam Larsson, whose monumental jump in play this season took him from regular healthy scratch to top-pairing defenseman. His defensive play has not yet reached Greene's levels, but his 18 assists in 2015 are a clear statement that he can be a serious threat offensively.

Forward of the Season: Michael Cammalleri

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Michael Cammalleri picks the top corner against the Arizona Coyotes.

On a team that was 28th in scoring in the NHL, choosing a player who scored 27 goals to be the team's forward of the season is, and should be, a foregone conclusion. 

But, to attribute Michael Cammalleri's obvious candidacy for recognition only to the number of goals he scored this season would be a disservice to the 32-year-old's play.

Of course, any discussion of Cammalleri must start with his goals. By scoring 27 times this season, he led the Devils in goals by a large margin. The Devils struggled so mightily for goals in 2014-15 that Cammalleri was one of only six of his team's forwards to score a double-digit goal total. It is clear, then, how impressive that tally is on such a poor offensive team.

Eight of Cammalleri's goals were game-winners, which led the team and was tied for third in the NHL. This means that Cammalleri had the game-winning goal in 25 percent of New Jersey's victories this season. 

Five of his goals this season were empty-netters, which slightly cheapens his goal total. Had Cammalleri scored no empty-netters, however, he still would have had 22 goals and led the team in markers by a wide margin.

Cammalleri's defense has been just as important to his fit in New Jersey. The Devils do not tolerate forwards who are not responsible defensively, regardless of how strong they are in the offensive zone (fans need not look beyond the failed Michael Ryder experiment to see this). 

So, his defensive ability, made clear by his plus-two rating and substantial time killing penalties, was equally crucial because it ensured his coaches were comfortable having him on the ice at all times. 

Honorable mention goes to Adam Henrique, whose 43 points led the team. Like Cammalleri, Henrique is the best of a bad bunch of forwards and struggled to make a constant impact as a result. Cammalleri's better goals tally and plus/minus make him the clear choice for forward of the year, but Henrique is still an important part of the Devils.

Young Player of the Season: Adam Larsson

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The Devils congratulate Adam Larsson on his third goal of the season.

Because the Devils only have two players who would qualify for a Rookie of the Year Award and both candidates (Damon Severson and Keith Kinkaid) spent significant time watching from the bench or press box, I have elected to give a Young Player of the Season Award instead. For this award, I considered players who are currently 25 or younger.

With this criterion, there are two obvious options—Adam Larsson and Adam Henrique. Both of these players earned honorable mentions in the player of the season discussions at their respective positions, but only one can take this honor.

Though it is close, Larsson is the best choice.

Henrique, though an important part of the Devils' present and future, was not a big enough playmaker or consistent enough this season to surpass what Larsson brought to the table. Comparing the two is difficult, as they play different positions and are asked to provide such different things. However, there is one comparison that can be made.

After January 1, 2015, Henrique had six goals and 16 assists. In the same time frame, Larsson had two goals and 18 assists. It is understandable for a forward on this team to struggle, given the forwards with whom he was playing, but it is difficult to reward such inconsistency, especially when compared to a defenseman who had a similar offensive output.

Larsson's offensive progress was the most measurable of the steps forward he took this season, but his defensive play grew even more rapidly. He had a minus-four rating before the Devils changed coaches at the end of December and a plus-six rating for the rest of the season.

That improvement came as Larsson joined Greene on the team's top defense pairing and as he therefore started to regularly play against top-level opponents. Such a jump in performance while also facing steeper competition is highly impressive.

Honorable mention goes to Henrique, but also Severson. Though he struggled at times after missing 31 games due to injury, Severson clearly proved early in the season that he is a talented defenseman who is capable of strong play in all three zones. At only 20 years old, the sky is the limit for Severson, as long as he can learn from his disappointing second half of this season.

Comeback Player of the Season: Steve Bernier

Adam Wiepert/Associated Press

Steve Bernier scores a goal against the Buffalo Sabres.

Steve Bernier is an incredibly worthy choice for New Jersey's Comeback Player of the Season, but he is far from the only candidate.

Honorable mentions go to Jordin Tootoo and Scott Gomez. All three players started the preseason with legitimate concerns that they would never play in the NHL again.

Tootoo's personal and professional lives both hit peaks during the 2014-15 season. Off the ice, he recently finished a book about his NHL career, during which his brother committed suicide and Tootoo struggled with alcoholism. On the ice, he had his best offensive season since 2007-08. After appearing in only 11 NHL games last season, his strong performance this year was a pleasant surprise.

Gomez's comeback was chronicled in a previous slide, but his 27 assists and 34 points are his highest totals since 2010-11. 

Bernier though, by the slightest of margins, has had the biggest comeback season. He out-produced Tootoo this season by a fair margin (Bernier had 16 goals and 32 points to Tootoo's 10 goals and 15 assists), while overcoming similar obstacles to those faced by Gomez.

What separates Bernier from Gomez is the difference in the depths to which both players had sunk last season. Gomez's struggles in Florida drew more attention because of his past success, but Gomez had 12 points in 48 games on a dreadful Panthers team that finished last season with 66 points. 

Because the Devils had numerous forwards struggling last season, Bernier's poor play did not draw as much attention, but his three goals, 12 points and minus-15 rating over the course of 78 games spoke for themselves. Perhaps most notably, he scored no goals in his last 50 games of the 2013-14 season. As a result, Bernier started the 2014-15 season in Albany with New Jersey's AHL affiliate. 

By the start of November, Bernier was back in New Jersey. On a team bereft of offensive talent, he managed to pick up 16 goals and 16 assists, giving him the second-most goals and fifth-most points on the team. 

A player who had arguably the worst season of his NHL career last year and made such a drastic turnaround this season is the obvious choice for Comeback Player of the Season.

Most Valuable Player: Cory Schneider

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Cory Schneider makes a glove save.

There is little to be said about Cory Schneider that has not already been expressed. In a season composed almost exclusively of disappointments, Schneider stood out, often by himself, as a glowing bright spot. 

He finished the season with a .925 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average, fifth-best and ninth-best respectively among goalies with at least 25 games played. Given that he played on a team allowing 6.2 more shots per game than it took, those numbers make him worthy of being team MVP.

The Devils agree.

According to Gulitti's polling of the team, Schneider was a near-unanimous choice for MVP. In fact, the only player to not vote for him was Schneider himself, who voted for Greene. 

Schneider's response to such overwhelming praise from his teammates was subdued and selfless:

"

“Any individual only has success because of his teammates,” Schneider insisted when asked about being voted MVP. “Not that we've had success as a team, so it's hard to find individual success out of that, but my job is made easier by my teammates. Regardless of how the results have been, I think every night we show up and we put in effort and we work hard and we all take pride in playing defense well, which, for me as a goalie, is very important to me. So, if guys think that (he's the team MVP) that's great, but any successes I've had are pretty much because of them.”

"

If Schneider can replicate this season in 2015-16, the Devils will have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs if they add just two quality players this offseason.

For now, however, Schneider must be content with being New Jersey's obvious MVP for the 2014-15 season.