NHL Turkey Awards

Thanksgiving is here…again…and it’s the time if year when people announce to others what they are thankful for, gorge on food with people they likely only tolerate at best, and then pass out on the sofa watching the Lions or Cowboys play football. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day, but once a year. So, what does this have to do with hockey? you might ask. That is a perfectly valid question, good job! The answer to your question is simple: nothing. So, here’s the NHL Turkey Awards! 

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However, before I begin I would like to take a quick moment to explain the awards. These awards are handed out to the three teams and three players that have been the biggest disappointments so far this season. These choices are based strictly (mostly strictly anyway) on preseason expectations.

NHL Turkey Awards

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Dallas Stars 

Why They “Win”: Defense

There might be no bigger disappointment this season than the Dallas Stars. With the additions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky to the Dynamic Duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn many NHL experts predicted that the Stars would be a top 10 team and could be a dark horse contender for the title. This was based on Spezza continuing his point-per-game production and Hemsky retaining the chemistry he displayed with Spezza in Ottawa at the end of last season. Other experts predicted, rightly, that the Stars would have defensive issues.

The defense has been porous, allowing 74 goals in 22 games, placing them 28th in the league. They have also allowed 698 shots on goal in 22 games. This suggests that not only are the Stars goalies (Kari Lehtonen and Anders Lindback) allowing the third most amount of goals, their defensemen are in the bottom third of the league in shot on goal allowed and struggle to keep the puck away from goalie. Not a recipe for success.

Note: The Stars defense has improved slightly since calling up John Klingberg and trading for Jason Demers, but they have a long road ahead of them. 

Columbus Blue Jackets

Why They “Win”: Injuries

ESPN’s Preseason Power Rankings had the Columbus Blue Jackets as high as 11th, right behind the aforementioned Dallas Stars. Right now the Blue Jackets have 14 points and are tied with the Buffalo Sabers and Edmonton Oilers as the worst team in the league points-wise. So far this season the Blue Jackets have seen twelve different players wind up on the injury list, including five defensemen. 

The injuries have addled the Blue Jackets to the point that they may already be out of the playoff picture. They are currently sitting 10 points behind a tie for the second Wildcard spot and they have a very tough road ahead. In their next 14 games they play the Predators twice, the Canucks, Lightning, Red Wings, Bruins, Penguins, Wild, and Blackhawks. Mixed in between those games they also play “lesser” teams in the Panthers twice, the Flyers, and the Capitals twice. Brutal. But, as TMMOTS staff writer Frank Walker wrote about yesterday, the Blue Jackets are looking for potential trade partners.

Colorado Avalanche

Why They “Win”: Injuries

Once again returning to the ESPN Preseason Power Rankings, the Colorado Avalanche were picked as a Top Five team and finished last season with 112 points, third best in the league. But, like the Blue Jackets, they have been riddled with injures,  though not as bad. They currently have nine players on the injury list, but unlike the Blue Jackets they have been able to hang on a little better and are battling the Stars for 6th in the Central division.

Although the Avs have won two games in a row (as of this writing), their defense has been almost bad as the Stars allowing 70 goals in 22 games. But as players come off of injury, they cold improve enough to make a playoff push.

Individual “Winners”:

Dustin “The Dive” Brown

Why He “Wins”: His nickname should give it away

There are really only two options with Brown; either he is a Diver or he’s a frail, whispy guy. I don’t buy that second one because he’s made it this far in the NHL and he’s the captain of a Stanley Cup winning team. But the fact of the matter is that “The Dive” falls to the ice if someone so much as skates to close to him. One could argue that this allows his team to go on the Power Play and is therefore a useful tactic , but there is a reason that the NHL is trying to punish diving. On the other hand, let’s ask the NBA how their crackdown on flopping is going [hint: not well].

I am relatively sure that Brown was valedictorian of Karl Malone’s School of Acting for Athletes (if you don’t who Karl Malone is or why he would own and operate a fictitious acting school for athletes then you just made me feel old. Proud of yourself?) Diving, flopping, or general injury feigning has no place in sports in my opinion. Sports, especially hockey, should be about fierce competition and fair play. Diving is, in my opinion, juuuust this side of cheating. Oh, yeah, and he only has 10 points and a -3 +/-rating this season. So there’s that.

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Ales Hemsky

Why He “Wins”:  Very little offensive contributions

Simply put, he has been terrible and has not lived up to his free agency contract. In 21 games for the Stars this season, he has zero goals and only 5 assists with a -9 +/- rating. In contrast, Hemsky had 17 points with 4 goals and 13 assists in only 20 games with the Ottawa Senators after his trade from the Oilers last season. The Stars signed him to a three year contract in part because of the chemistry he displayed while playing alongside Jason Spezza in Ottawa. That chemistry, however, seems to have evaporated this season. There is still time for Hemsky to turn it around, but this award is for the first part of this season. That’s why he is a “winner”.