Mid-Season NHL Awards
The awards ceremony is a glorious time of the year, and I love it so much that I decided to put on my own awards show! The plot twist being that the season is half way through and there’s a good chance that maybe none of these picks will be front runners for the season ending trophies. And you know what sucks about that the most? Mine don’t count, and mine don’t come with real life trophies.
It’s a bummer, but that’s the way it’s gotta be.
The season has reached the midway point, and we’re beginning to look to the end. The playoff race is coming and it’s about to get dirty. Which teams will come through in the clutch? Which will dismantle and fall away to the side as if they were never in contention?
Who’s to know? That’s the joy of sports, no one knows. But what we do know, is that in the next few slides are some very happy hockey players whether they know it or not (and I’m assuming not), they’re about to receive my Mid-Season Awards.
Hart Trophy
Sidney Crosby has 65 points in 45 games. Hate him as I may, there’s absolutely no denying his skill level. The 26 year old, former first round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been flying this season, and he’s done so without injury thus far.
When arguing for the sake of an argument with Penguins fans, the only reasonable argument that I’ve found when it comes to Crosby is bringing up his nagging injury issues that seem to plague him on a yearly basis. This season has been different… So far. Crosby has skated in all 45 of the Penguins games, more than he’s played in since 2009-2010.
Crosby has been as clutch as it gets in for the Pens and has 24 goals and 41 assists, good for 65 points, on the season. He’s tallied at least a point in 37 games this season, and has recorded multiple points in 19 games. Crosby’s +12 rating isn’t so bad either.
There’s no denying that the Penguins would be A-okay without their captain, but the way Crosby and Chris Kunitz have been able to put up points this season (whether they both deserve to be on Team Canada is a whole other story), the Penguins are soaring high in the battered Eastern Conference, and well on their way to what is likely to be the second season in a row with the number one seed going into the playoffs.
Norris Trophy
Duncan Keith has found his game this season with the Chicago Blackhawks. The second round pick in 2002, Keith has been awesome on the blueline for the Hawks this season, leading all defenseman in the NHL with 42 points.
Keith has skated in all 45 games for Chicago this season. He’s scored 3 goals, but leads all defense with 39 assists. Keith has as many assists as second place scoring defenseman, and former Norris Trophy winner, Erik Karlsson has points on the season. The 39 assists ranks him third among skaters in the entire NHL.
Keith hasn’t only been a magnificent mover of the puck this season, but has gotten the job done in his own zone as well, ranking 6th among defenseman with a +18 rating. Keith has also done well in his own zone by taking only three penalties on the season. Keeping your defenseman out of the penalty box is a big deal nowadays in the NHL (just ask Dion Phaneuf and the Toronto Maple Leafs about it).
Similarly with Crosby and the Penguins, the Blackhawks could probably handle themselves without Duncan Keith, but the star defenseman is playing smart hockey this season and has a huge helping hand in the Hawks 29-7-9 record.
Vezina Trophy
This is awkward to type for me at the moment, but Ben Bishop has been standing on his head all season long with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bishop has started in net for the Bolts in 32 games this season, while he hasn’t had the work load some other goaltenders have had, not all other goaltenders have the luxury of having a back up goalie like Anders Lindback.
Bishop sure has shut my mouth after I was in complete shock after his trade to Tampa Bay last season. The trade sent Cory Conacher (who? click on the name and you’ll see what I mean) to the Senators in exchange for Bishop. Bishop had a decent stretch with the Lightning to end the last season, but it was nothing like this season.
Bishop holds a record of 22-5-3 this season in net. I’d take that over 4 goals and 10 assists any day. On top of his outstanding record in net, Bishop has been able to hold his opponent off the board in four contents thus far, tying Tuukka Rask for first in the NHL in shutouts. Bishop also stands atop the statistical charts with a save percentage of .935%. Add all that up with his goals against average of 1.85, and you’re looking at a Vezina Trophy winner.
Not so fast, I need to slow down, we’re half way through the season, and goalies will start to wear down as the season goes on. Bishop is on start number 33 Thursday when the Capitals come to town. We’ll see just how he’s doing when we get down the stretch and he’s pushing 50-60 starts on the year. Either way, for now, Ben Bishop stands alone at the midway point.
Calder Trophy
At the half way point of the season, Tomas Hertl, even though he’s been out since mid-December, is the rookie of the year. Enjoy it while it lasts kid, but unfortunately this isn’t an award that will sit on your mantle, and neither will the real Calder Trophy this year. Hertl, who had surgery on his knee to repair damaged ligaments, could wind up missing up to six to nine months.
Hertl only skated in 35 games before going out with his injury, but he managed to tally 15 goals and 10 assists before going down. His 15 goals still stands alone atop the rookie leaderboard, even after fellow rookie Nathan MacKinnon knocked him off of his high horse for points on Saturday.
Hertl wowed us all in his third NHL game by scoring 4 goals against the New York Rangers, and that last one, was it a dandy or what? There wasn’t a ton of consistency in Hertl’s play, but it will all come with time and experience at the NHL level. Unfortunately for him, the San Jose Sharks, and basically everyone but Martin Biron and Henrik Lundqvist, he’s probably done for the season.
Hertl will likely see Nathan MacKinnon go home with the Calder Trophy this season now, but he can rest knowing that the San Jose Sharks finished ahead of the Colorado Avalanche in the standings in the West, and even made it deeper into the playoffs than the Avs….. Right?
Jack Adams Trophy
Was I wrong about Patrick Roy or what? You never would have known Colorado was in the bottom of the NHL last season by the looks of this team today. The Avs are fourth place in a stock piled Central Division, and they’re hanging with top competition on a nightly basis.
Roy took over a team that hasn’t seen a playoff game in three seasons, and a team that finished with the least amount of points in the NHL last season. The Avalanche were in complete rebuild (or so we thought). The difference between rebuilding something in Colorado and rebuilding something elsewhere? All you need is Peyton Manning, errrr, Nathan MacKinnon? No, Patrick Roy.
Just like the good old days, Patrick Roy is at the head of the Avalanche’s success, and we hope to see some more fire like he brought in his coaching debut when Bruce Boudreau and him went at it through the glass.