Ilya Kovalchuk

He was leading the league in goals several weeks into the season when he suffered a broken foot after blocking shot in a game against the San Jose Sharks on October 24.

In the final year of his contract, Kovalchuk and the Thrashers could not come to an agreement on an extension. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell reportedly offered 12-year, $101 million and seven-year, $70 million contracts, both of which Kovalchuk turned down. Read Less

On March 8, Kovalchuk's 13th career hat trick and 2nd hat trick as a New Jersey Devil was recorded. The Devils won 5–1 against the New York Islanders, with Ilya being the first star of the night.

On March 20, Kovalchuk became the 87th player in NHL history to score 400 goals. It was the lone goal of a 1–0 victory over the Ottawa Senators. He was given third star of the night.

Kovalchuk ended the 2011–12 season with seven game-deciding shootout goals, and eleven shootout goals in total, setting a new record in both categories. The league first introduced shootouts in 2005. Kovalchuk finally got his first taste of playoff success in this season, as he and the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Finals against, ironically, the Los Angeles Kings, the team he turned down as a free agent two years earlier. Despite leading the playoffs in scoring through the first three rounds, Kovalchuk was playing through a herniated disc in his back, and was very ineffective against the Kings, scoring just one point in the series, an empty-net goal in Game 4, as the Devils fell to the Kings in six games. Read Less