Another NHL regular season draws to a close meaning that playoffs are coming just around the bend. I can’t wait for the playoffs to begin despite my favorite team having been out of contention for several weeks now, but before they do I am once again going to take a moment to make some comments on who I think will win hardware at the NHL Awards Show after the season is over. I did this last year as well and that can still be found over on my Facebook page as a note.
I will start with the Calder Trophy for the league’s rookie of the year award. Last year it was basically a three man race which was pretty predictable, with an Avs player on the list. In fact only 5 players last year broke 40 points where this year there are already 10 having done so and another 3 within a few points of that mark. This year there is certainly a top two but then there are a few other names that could be thrown in as well. Of those that could come in third a couple of goalies could make the cut with Sergei Bobrovsky and Corey Crawford at the top of the list and both very valuable pieces to their teams. A pair of defensemen could also get some notice with Cam Fowler being part of a surprising Anaheim team and Kevin Shattenkirk playing outstanding since getting his chance in the NHL. Both players are over the 40 point marks as defensemen in their rookie seasons. Forwards that could get consideration would include Taylor Hall whose chances took a hit with his injury, Derek Stepan, Tyler Ennis, and Michael Grabner. While I would give “third place” (and perhaps I’m a bit biased) to Shattenkirk, I think in the end it will go to Grabner who has 50 points and is a +14 on a bad Islanders team.
Runner up for the award will go to Logan Couture. While he will get some first place votes he plays on a strong San Jose team and that will work against him, though it can be argued that he didn’t benefit from that fact but rather contributed to it. He currently is over 30 goals, as are all the top 3, and has 54 points with an impressive +19 and a huge 8 game winning goals while being strong in the face-off circle. If he manages to win the award it will take a strong finish but would likely have a lot to do with the number of game winners he has potted.
This year’s winner however will be Jeff Skinner. He started off on fire and has never slowed down and is a huge part of why Carolina still has a chance of making the playoffs, though they still sit two points behind the Rangers with a game in hand. He leads the rookie scoring race with 59 points (30 of them being goals) and has a pair of games left to hit the 60 mark. He has been a very important part of that Carolina team that doesn’t boast a lineup like that of San Jose and he also comes in not having the experience of playing last year as Couture had gotten.
I’ll go to the Jack Adams award next for the coach of the year. I won’t spend much time on this one because it isn’t easy to judge a coach’s worth when you don’t get to watch many games and there aren’t the clear cut favorites this year as there was last year with the surprising Avalanche and Coyotes. I would probably put Guy Boucher on the list for having an exciting Lightning team in Tampa Bay that are heading to the playoffs this year and challenged Washington for a time for the division title. Jacques Lemaire could also get recognition for taking a horrible start by New Jersey at the hands of MacLean and getting the team winning and regularly and back into playoff talk. Perhaps Dan Bylsma for dealing with lengthy injuries to his star players that could have left the team in a bad position but getting the most out of the Penguins they will return to the playoffs and challenged Philly for the division none the less. Perhaps Marc Crawford (oh how I hate to say that and I hope he gets what’s coming his way) for what he has done in Dallas as well.
Beyond that I’m truly not sure who I would nominate. There aren’t big surprises as far as teams doing far better than expected this year but Philly has been good, Vancouver, San Jose and Detroit all might get nominations for their coaches … but those teams were all expected to do well because of the teams they ice. It is hard for me to vote for a coach that has an exceptional team even if they may have to deal with the occasional injury. In the end my vote would probably go to Boucher, but as for who the top three are or who the NHL will give the award to I honestly don’t know.
The Norris Trophy is given to the league’s best overall defenseman, though as I have mentioned in other places it really recognizes only those with some offensive skill so doesn’t truly include defense first defensemen. None the less there are certainly some guys this year that deserve the title of best defenseman for their play in all areas this year.
Third place will likely be a race between Keith Yandle and Dustin Byfuglien. Both players were vital pieces to their teams. Both players contributed and played huge in all areas of the ice. Byfuglien is second in the league in shots behind only Ovie, and leads all d-men with 20 goals. Yandle on the other hand leads his team currently in points, both forwards and defense, and is a significant part of the Coyotes returning to the playoffs this year.
Second place will likely go to Lubomir Visnovsky, though in my book he should win the award. On a Ducks team that is giving top minutes to a rookie, that little was expected of, and whose biggest weakness going into the season was said to be defense this guy has had an incredible season. The top point scorer in the league for defensemen with a shot at reaching 70 points before the season is over, he also sits at +17 on this Anaheim team and plays over 24 minutes a night for them.
This year’s winner will likely be a guy that has won a few already, and who may be in his last season further increasing his chances. It is a shame that having won before and the fact he may retire could weigh in on the vote, but it certainly could with some voters. However that isn’t to say he hasn’t had a Norris type year. Nicklas Lidstrom could quite possibly be the best defensemen ever, and that is saying something coming from an Avs fan. He is over 60 points again this year and is night in and night out a rock solid guy for the Wings in all areas of the ice, even at 40 years of age. His numbers are solid and his play is outstanding once again, and he’ll likely be rewarded for it in Vegas.
The best goaltender in the league is awarded with the Vezina Trophy each year. This year I think it is a three man race with Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price watching from just outside the ring. Pekka Rinne is likely to be your third place goalie. He has been a big part of the Nashville Predators once again making the playoffs. Despite not having a stalwart offensive team in front of him providing goals for the team he consistently gives the team a chance to win by playing very solid in net. Of goalies with at least 55 starts he is 2nd with a .929 save % and third with a 2.14 GAA while posting 32 wins this year.
Second in voting will likely go to Roberto Luongo. Lu benefits from having an incredibly team in front of him that would put most goaltenders in a position to win but that isn’t to say that he isn’t a great goalie. His numbers this year certainly show that as well with a 2.11 GAA and a .928 save %, and having won two-thirds of his starts with a 38-15-7 record. However he still has to show that he can win in big games which to date he hasn’t been able to do (and no, I don’t really count the Olympic gold because he didn’t really play as the best goalie and the team won despite him looking shaky at times in that game).
The winner this year will be a guy that has won it before, and then lost his starting job to a rookie last year, then re-took it this year with stellar play. Tim Thomas and his 34 wins in just 56 games is having an incredible season. For much of the year he was below 2 goals against per game and could still finish there in the next few games. Right now he sits at 2.02 GAA. He also boasts a .938 save percentage which if I’m not mistaken would be a record for highest save percentage for a season in the history of the NHL. He has been solid to say the least and could lead Boston to the promised land this post-season.
This year’s Hart Trophy, awarded to the player judged to be most valuable to his team, will likely come down to a pair of players. While Sydney Crosby was running away with the award prior to his injury, having not played in such a long time has taken him out of the running. Third place could come down to any number of players and valid arguments could be made for them all. Jonathan Toews in Chicago, St. Louis or Stamkos in Tampa, Rinne in Nashville … and I could go on. However it will come down to a race between Daniel Sedin, twin brother of last year’s winner Henrik Sedin, and Corey Perry.
In my opinion Perry should win this award. Not only did he recently hit the 50 goal mark and have a chance to still reach 100 points, he has led his team which wasn’t expected to do much this year solidly into a playoff position that I don’t feel they will lose with just a few days left. He has been much more “valuable to his team”, as the award description states, than any of the other single nominees and has been instrumental in getting the Ducks where they are today.
I think he’ll lose out to Daniel Sedin however. Besides the storyline of having brothers win in back to back years he has been hyped for many weeks to be the front-runner for the award (and since then Perry has scored something along the lines of 19 goals in 15 games while Anaheim’s playoff life was on the line). Daniel has certainly had an incredible season with 41 goals and 61 assists already, but is he truly more valuable to his team than a guy like Perry? When you look at the team around him you have his brother (who deserved the award last year) with nearly 100 points as well, and their 2nd line center also has 40 goals. They also boast a Vezina candidate goalie between the pipes and a defense, though certainly injured much of the season, that is a very solid defense as well. If you remove Daniel or remove Perry, I think the Ducks are much, much worse off than the Canucks. However despite that I still think that Sedin wins this year.
In summary my predictions…
Calder: Jeff Skinner (CAR)
Adams: Guy Boucher (TB)
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom (DET) … (though I’d give it to Lubomir Visnovsky (ANA))
Vezina: Tim Thomas (BOS)
Hart: Daniel Sedin (VAN) … (though I’d give it to Corey Perry (ANA))
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