NHL Awards Ceremony Tonight

Tonight in Las Vegas, the NHL will distribute its annual regular season hardware.  Here’s a brief rundown of the awards, the finalists, and who I hope wins them.

 

Hart Trophy – awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team.

Finalists – Alexander Ovechkin (WAS), Evgeni Malkin (PIT), Pavel Datsyuk (DET)

Probable Winner – Ovechkin

Who I Hope Wins – Malkin.  Why?  While I do love Ovechkin’s play, I think we witnessed Malkin surpassing Crosby as Pittsburgh’s top offensive threat.  This is not a knock on Crosby, who was likely on the runner-up list for the Hart himself.  Rather, it is a statement on how Malkin displayed his abundant skill and size on a consistent basis this year.  Plus, I think it would just be cool to see a Conn Smythe and Hart winner in the same year (hasn’t happened since Gretzky).

Norris Trophy – awarded to the best defenceman

Finalists – Zdeno Chara (BOS), Mike Green (WAS), Nicklas Lidstrom (DET)

Probable Winner - Green

Who I Hope Wins – Lidstrom. Why?  Simply to solidify the argument for him being the best of all time.  Green has the monster numbers, and Chara was just a plain old monster on the Boston blueline this year, which means Lidstrom may very well come in third place in voting.  As our readers know, I’m am quite passionate in my hatred towards the Red Wings.  So why show love for their captain?  Because he’s just so freaking solid in every aspect of being a professional hockey player – rarely (if ever) makes on-ice mistakes, is well-spoken and respectful off the ice, and is a proven winner.  Lidstrom, along with former Wings captain Steve Yzerman, are the only two Red Wings that I can honestly say I respect.  Up yours, Mike Vernon.

Vezina Trophy – awarded to the league’s best goaltender

Finalists – Tim Thomas (BOS), Niklas Backstrom (MIN), Steve Mason (CBJ)

Probable Winner – Thomas.

Who I Hope Wins – Mason.  Why?  Thomas has the wins and GAA to back up a victory for the award.  Backstrom also had a strong season, but playing for defence-first Minnesota versus the high-flying Bruins, puts him below Thomas in my estimation.  Mason, on the other hand, came up as a rookie and got the Blue Jackets (THE COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS!) into the playoffs.  Yeah, he burned out a little down the stretch, which was evident when Detroit eliminated the Jackets in the opening round.  But that’s simply because he carried the weight of the entire team since Pascal Leclaire went down with an injury early in the season.  The Calder is Mason’s – why not send the kid home with some more hardware?

Calder Trophy – awarded to the league’s top rookie

Finalists – Steve Mason (CBJ), Kris Versteeg (CHI), Bobby Ryan (ANA)

Probable Winner – Mason.

Who I Hope Wins – Mason.  Why?  Because he’s a rookie who played like a man, and the reason’s I listed above in the Vezina argument.  Versteeg and Ryan both have good cases for the runner-up spot, which I give to Ryan for being a man-beast on Anaheim’s top line and scoring this goal:

Frank Selke Trophy – awarded to the league’s top two-way forward

Finalists - Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Mike Richards (PHI), Ryan Kesler (VAN)

Probable Winner – Richards.

Who I Hope Wins – Datsyuk.  Why? Richards actually made Philadelphia’s penalty kill an offensive threat, so he is more than deserving of the award.  I hope it goes to Datsyuk, however, not just because of his high-calibre play both with and without the puck, but out of pity as well.  The poor guy is nominated for the Hart and the Lester B. Pearson award (against the Malkin / Ovechkin combo), which means he’ll likely be empty-handed following those awards, and he’s up for the Lady Byng (which he’s won the past three seasons – voters must be tired of seeing him win it).  Here’s hoping he takes home the Selke as a consolation prize, which will be the second straight year he’s done so.

Lady Byng Trophy – awarded to the league’s most “gentlemanly” player (aka biggest pussy)

Finalists - Zach Parise (NJ), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Martin St. Louis (TB)

Probable Winner – Datsyuk.

Who I Hope Wins – St. Louis.  Why?  Simply because he’d be the cutest little winner ever.  Seriously, imagine this celebration after winning the Byng:

That’s just too precious.

Jack Adams Trophy – awarded to the league’s best coach

Finalists - Todd McLellan (SJ), Claude Julien (BOS), Andy Murray (STL)

Probable Winner – Julien.

Who I Hope Wins – Murray.  Why? McLellan and Julien both had highly-talented teams that were expected to fare well.  Granted, the leader of the ship must keep it pointed in the right direction for a successful season, and both Julien and McLellan did that.  However, Murray took a St. Louis team that should’ve been a couple years away from making any noise because of their youth, and led them through an injury-plagued season to a 6th-place finish in the Wild Western Conference.  Looking back, he lost Andy McDonald, Paul Kariya, Erik Johnson, and Eric Brewer for extended parts of the season.

Enjoy the ceremonies tonight everyone.