Considering the grace, professionalism, and - as officially evidenced by the award in his hand - perseverance with which he handled a preseason cancer diagnosis, I'm not so sure that the best compliment I can offer Brian Boyle isn't that he more than lived up to the contract he signed in free agency. What's happened since then has been anything but ordinary, and he obviously meant a hell of a lot more than your average bottom-six center to a young team that benefited from the veteran leadership he provided on the ice and inspiration he served as off the ice. However, if not for the occasional heart-warming and tear-jerking moment, the most notable thing about his seamless fit into the lineup that he almost immediately aided was that it made tragic news feel like somewhat old news. Perhaps it's wrong to even speak on all that he went through, because the vast majority of his fighting was done away from the rink, but - save for the times in which his resilience was being celebrated - what he went through certainly wasn't evident when he was on the rink. Of course, Brian Boyle wasn't a virtual lock to take home the Masterton Trophy because of the battles in the corners that he was quick to engage in, or the face-offs he won, or the goals he scored. Still, the willingness with which he did all those things without missing a beat certainly was made all the more impressive by the circumstances surrounding his personal life. We're not even just talking about a guy who kicked cancer's ass one month and was on the verge of returning to play meaningful minutes in the NHL the next. We're talking about a guy who wasted no time in becoming a proactive advocate for the fight against cancer while also dealing with a sick child as he was still indoctrinating himself into a locker room that he was originally added to as a "big brother". I think it's safe to say that he didn't just succeed in setting an example for the New Jersey Devils, but for the entire hockey community and everyone that's even mildly familiar with it.
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