Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year):
Nominees: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Adam Henrique (NJD), Matt Read (PHI)
Yes, I know, Edmonton's youngest of their many young guns is the easy choice, given that he leads all rookies in goals and points. Henrique, however, has had more of an impact on a less-deep team. He's come in out of nowhere to give the Devils an offensive presence up front, but he also plays great defense--on a team that's -18, he's a +6. That's impressive. What's also impressive is the two-plus minutes he averages per game on the PK, the fact that he wins 50% of his faceoffs (RNH is an atrocious 37.8%) and that he's taken just one penalty all year. He's also first among rookie forwards in blocked shots at 34. This guy is good, and at just 21 years of age, he'll only get better.
Nominees: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Adam Henrique (NJD), Matt Read (PHI)
Yes, I know, Edmonton's youngest of their many young guns is the easy choice, given that he leads all rookies in goals and points. Henrique, however, has had more of an impact on a less-deep team. He's come in out of nowhere to give the Devils an offensive presence up front, but he also plays great defense--on a team that's -18, he's a +6. That's impressive. What's also impressive is the two-plus minutes he averages per game on the PK, the fact that he wins 50% of his faceoffs (RNH is an atrocious 37.8%) and that he's taken just one penalty all year. He's also first among rookie forwards in blocked shots at 34. This guy is good, and at just 21 years of age, he'll only get better.
Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward):
Nominees: Jonathan Toews (CHI), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
The only thing opponents fear as much as getting beat by his shot in their own end is getting Toewsed (see what I did there?) in the offensive end by the Chicago captain. It's amazing that at just 23 years old, Toews is such a complete player. Not only is he tied for the NHL lead in goal scoring, he's a strong +13, plays two minutes of PK hockey per game, is third in the NHL in takeaways, and has an insane 60.5% success rate on faceoffs, best in the league. That narrowly puts him ahead of Datsyuk, who has been good, but not quite as good, as usual.
Nominees: Jonathan Toews (CHI), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
The only thing opponents fear as much as getting beat by his shot in their own end is getting Toewsed (see what I did there?) in the offensive end by the Chicago captain. It's amazing that at just 23 years old, Toews is such a complete player. Not only is he tied for the NHL lead in goal scoring, he's a strong +13, plays two minutes of PK hockey per game, is third in the NHL in takeaways, and has an insane 60.5% success rate on faceoffs, best in the league. That narrowly puts him ahead of Datsyuk, who has been good, but not quite as good, as usual.
Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman):
Nominees: Francois Beauchemin (ANA), Shea Weber (NSH), Kimmo Timonen (PHI)
Nominees: Francois Beauchemin (ANA), Shea Weber (NSH), Kimmo Timonen (PHI)
It will become more obvious as the Flyers continue to play without Chris Pronger just how valuable a defenseman Kimmo Timonen really is. Timonen plays in every situation--four minutes a night both on the PP and PK as well as 22 minutes overall, numbers that will only increase as the season goes on. He has dished out 22 helpers and is a +12. While it's true that Weber has tallied a ton of points, and Beauchemin leads the league in SH TOI at over five minutes a game, I think the best is yet to come for Timonen, a scary thought for the other Atlantic Division teams chasing the Flyers.
Jack Adams Award (Best Coach):
Nominees: Joel Quenneville (CHI), Alain Vigneault (VAN), Peter Laviolette (PHI)
Nominees: Joel Quenneville (CHI), Alain Vigneault (VAN), Peter Laviolette (PHI)
All Lavi seems to do is win. He took a team that traded just about everybody in the off-season, has lost a dominant player to injury, and has Ilya Bryzgalov as their starting goalie, and turned it into a monster that has crushed the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Flyers lead the league in goals per game and boast the NHL's leading scorer in young Claude Giroux. Nobody gave Philly a chance coming into this season, and look at where they are, with what appears to be a lot less than what the Blackhawks and Canucks have.
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender):
Nominees: Jimmy Howard (DET), Tim Thomas (BOS), Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
Nominees: Jimmy Howard (DET), Tim Thomas (BOS), Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
The Bruins' backstop just continues to defy age, reason, and, at least four times a game, the laws of physics to become arguably the NHL's best player. At a 1.84 GAA and a .943 SV%, he is on pace to destroy the records he set last season while winning every trophy possible, including the Cup. He has been the most consistent player in the NHL, going on a stretch of ten straight wins at one point this season and leading the Bruins out of their Stanley Cup hangover and right back to where they were this time last year as Stanley Cup favorites. It's that insane save percentage number that puts him ahead of Howard (.925) and Lundqvist (.934) more than anything.
Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player):
Nominees: Phil Kessel (TOR), Tim Thomas (BOS), Claude Giroux (PHI)
Nominees: Phil Kessel (TOR), Tim Thomas (BOS), Claude Giroux (PHI)
This is an award for being the most outstanding, which is different from being the most valuable, and Kessel certainly has been just that. Kessel has lit the world up with 20 goals and 20 assists on a very weak Leafs team that has a playoff spot right now practically just because of his ability to score highlight-reel goals. Considering the fall-off the Leafs have after he and Lupul (Tyler Bozak is the team's third leading scorer), Kessel gets the edge over the NHL's top goalie and top goal scorer for this award.
Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player):
Nominees: Tim Thomas (BOS), Evgeni Malkin (PIT), Henrik Sedin (VAN)
Nominees: Tim Thomas (BOS), Evgeni Malkin (PIT), Henrik Sedin (VAN)
No Crosby. No Staal. No...well, no three quarters of the roster, it seems at times. Evgeni Malkin has had to shoulder the burden of being not just one but two and at times three of the top centermen in the world by himself and has done that brilliantly. Not only is he a power-play machine who plays five minutes a night with the man advantage, he is fourth in the NHL in scoring while playing with such superstars (can you sense the sarcasm?) as James Neal and Chris Kunitz. Malkin makes everyone around him better. It's hard to say that for Henrik Sedin since we know Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin are great, and even harder with Thomas since he's a goalkeeper. Malkin has put the Penguins on his back this season, and for that he should be the NHL MVP.
Got thoughts on my picks? Someone you want to see nominated? I know that I'm going to hear from Red Wings fans for not even nominating Lidstrom for the Norris (not to mention all of the ladies for not picking a single Ranger and only even nominating one!), so go ahead and yell away!
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