Devs’ Hall wins MVP; Barzal top rook for Isles
Mathew Barzal, Taylor Hall and Brian Boyle all put together historic seasons on the ice in the New York City area — and now have the hardware to prove it.
The Islanders’ Barzal and the Devils’ Hall and Boyle all took home prestigious honors Wednesday night at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.
Hall became the first Devil to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP, Barzal captured the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year and Boyle was named the winner of the Bill Masterson Trophy for his journey back to the ice after beating cancer.
Hall put together one of the best seasons in Devils history and added an exclamation point to it Wednesday. After racking up a career-high 39 goals, 54 assists and 93 points, he led the Devils to their first playoff appearance since 2012 to help garner MVP honors.
“It truly was a team effort this year,” said Hall, who received 72 first-place votes to edge the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, 1,264 points to 1,194.
The skilled winger became the first player in franchise history to win the award after goalie Martin Brodeur placed third three times.
There were always lofty expectations for Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, but after six seasons with the Oilers, he was traded him to the Devils for Adam Larsson in 2016. This past season, the 26-year-old Hall posted 41 more points than the Devils’s second-leading scorer, Nico Hischier (52).
Barzal burst onto the scene this season as a 20-year-old with his team-leading 85 points (22 goals, 63 assists). He racked up plenty of statistical feats to put him in select company and ran away with the Calder Trophy, picking up 160 of the 164 first-place votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
“I want to thank all my teammates this year, all my coaches, our owners and our passionate New York Islander fan base for everything they did for me this year,” Barzal said on stage after beating out the Canucks’ Brock Boeser. “I would not be up here if it wasn’t for any of you guys.”
The 2015 first-round pick became the fifth Islander to win the award, joining Bryan Berard (1997), Mike Bossy (1978), Bryan Trottier (1976) and Dennis Potvin (1974).
Boyle was honored after winning the battle of his life. Following a training camp medical exam that revealed a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia, the Devils forward came back to play in 69 games.
The Masterson Trophy rewards perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The 33year-old Boyle demonstrated all of those on the road back to the ice as he made his season debut on Nov. 1 and went on to tally 13 goals and 10 assists.
“Obviously this is not — never something, a situation you want to be in, but with the support that I have all around me, this is going to hold a special place in my heart,” the former Ranger said.