Ranking each NHL award from most important to pointless
There are a lot of NHL awards, but not all of them are important.
It’s NHL awards season, so what better time to look at the awards and how important they are than right now? There are quite a few trophies given out, but not all of them are great at rewarding what they’re supposed to reward. Some things probably shouldn’t be rewarded.
I’m here to give you my objective ranking of each major award from most important and useful, to awards that probably shouldn’t exist, to outright pointless. Before I begin, let me set some ground rules.
First of all, these are just my opinions. Feel free to share yours in the comments below. Secondly, I’m viewing each of these awards from several standpoints. How important is each award? Does it actually reward something that’s worth rewarding? Would anyone really care if the award was never given out again? Also, I’m a big fan of tiers, so I’m separating the awards into tiers.
Let’s get started.
The Most Important NHL Awards
1. Ted Lindsay Award
2. Hart Trophy
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You probably expected to see the Hart Trophy at the number one spot, didn’t you? What’s a more important award than one which rewards the most valuable player in the NHL? How about one which rewards the best player in the league? If I had to choose between the Hart and the Ted Lindsay, I’d rather win the latter. Here’s why.
First of all, “valuable” is a very vague term. Being the best player, though, is more definitive. Most importantly, the Hart Trophy is voted on by a bunch of people in the PHWA. With all due respect to all the reporters and beat writers out there, the Ted Lindsay Award is voted on by the players. Being respected by your peers as the most outstanding player in the NHL is better than having a bunch of reporters and beat writers say you’re the most valuable player.
No other league has an award like the Ted Lindsay. That’s what makes it so special. More leagues should allow the players to honor their peers. It would end the endless debates on the definition of “valuable” and would allow the best player in each league to be honored.
The Hart Trophy is still a very important award. But the Ted Lindsay Award should carry more weight than it.
3. Conn Smythe Trophy
Each season, the Conn Smythe Trophy goes to the best player of the postseason. It almost always goes to a player on the team that wins the Stanley Cup, but not always. Obviously, being the best player on a championship team is pretty darn important and cool.
4. Rocket Richard Trophy
5. Art Ross Trophy
These are the two simplest NHL awards because there’s no voting involved. Scoring goals important. So is picking up points. Pretty straightforward and I like it. More awards should be this simple. I like goals more than points, but you could flip the two and I’d have no meaningful objections.
The Not Quite As Important NHL Awards
6. Calder Memorial Trophy
Each year, the Calder Trophy goes to the NHL’s most outstanding rookie. This one’s pretty straight forward. Every league has some form of this award. Overall, there isn’t much to nitpick about this award. Keep it the way it is.
7. Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy goes to the best goalie in the NHL each season. Usually, the winner is pretty deserving. However, there have been some very questionable winners in the past. Goalies are hard to compare to each other. Sure, you can look at save percentage and wins, but those don’t provide proper context.
It’s still an important award that generally rewards who it should reward, but maybe someone other than the general managers who have no clue how to value goalies should be voting on the award. Either that or more advanced goaltending metrics should be a part of the public domain.
8. King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Each season, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player “who exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community”.
A lot of people think this award isn’t important, but I think it’s pretty cool the NHL rewards players who make a difference in their community. It helps remind fans players are human beings just like us. And I’m all for players who are making a difference being rewarded. So while this award has nothing to do with their work on the ice, this is a pretty darn cool award.
9. Selke Trophy
As is, I like the Selke Trophy. However, much like the Norris Trophy (more on this later), winners tend to put up quite a few points. Why are points meaningful for an award that is supposed to reward defensive play? Also, why are wings often overlooked in the voting?
10. Norris Trophy
Each season, the Norris Trophy goes to the defenseman who “demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position”. Or at least it’s supposed to. The award is heavily biased towards defensemen who put up a lot of points.
Here’s where each of the previous five winners have ranked among defensemen in points.
- 2014-15: Erik Karlsson (1st)
- 2015-16: Drew Doughty (10th)
- 2016-17: Brent Burns (1st)
- 2017-18: Victor Hedman (5th)
- 2018-19: Mark Giordano (2nd)
Outside of Doughty, there’s a pretty clear trend with recent Norris Trophy winners. You’ve got to put up points to win a Norris Trophy. Which sort of contradicts the definition of the award.
Here’s how you fix it. Scrap the Norris Trophy and create the Bobby Orr Award for offensive defensemen and the Nicklas Lidstrom Award for defensive defensemen. Either that or tell the voters to start looking at things other than points and plus-minus rating.
The Somewhat Important NHL Awards
11. Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
This award goes to the most “gentlemanly” player. It’s not a very meaningful or important award for several reasons. First of all, it’s almost impossible for a defenseman to win the award. Only three defensemen have ever won the award, though Red Kelly won it three times. Shouldn’t defensemen who don’t commit penalties get rewarded as much, if not more so, than forwards who don’t?
Secondly, the wrong people are voting for the award. It’s voted on by the PHWA. Why not have the players and the referees vote on it? They’re in a far better position to determine which players show the best sportsmanship. If those two things were fixed, it would be a way more credible and important award.
12. Jack Adams Trophy
This award goes to the best NHL coach each season. My concern is this. A lot of people would say Joel Quenneville is the one of the best coaches ever, right? Well, why has he won as many Jack Adams as coaches like Bob Hartley, Patrick Roy, and Paul MacLean, who were all removed from their positions not too long after winning?
Also, Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders won the Jack Adams in 2019. And deservedly so. This year, Trotz finished 14th. How do you explain that? The voting process is quite flawed, which makes this award a lot less important and meaningful than it should be.
13. William M. Jennings Trophy
The William M. Jennings Trophy goes to the goaltenders of the team with the fewest goals allowed each season. Why is this an individual award and why is it only awarded to the goaltenders? This should be a team award.
14. Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
This award goes to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Before this year, I had no issues with it. But now I do. While filling out my hypothetical award ballot, I had to wonder what was harder to overcome – concussions and their symptoms, alcoholism, or cancer?
There shouldn’t be one winner for this award. It forces voters to rank obstacles. That shouldn’t be the point of the Masterton. It’s about overcoming obstacles, not which obstacle is harder to overcome. Each team should have one winner. Reward those who have overcome obstacles. Tell their stories.
NHL Awards That Simply Should Not Exist
15. Mark Messier Leadership Award
Come on. It’s just an award Mark Messier gets to vote on. What’s the point of it? The Messier Award doesn’t reward anything that is not already rewarded. It rewards leadership, but isn’t this covered by the King Clancy Memorial Trophy? Just scrap it and tell Messier he can hand out his own unsanctioned award.
Also, why does Messier get to have his own award? Where’s Wayne Gretzky’s award? What about Ilya Bryzgalov’s award?
16. Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year Award
Look, I’m all for honoring Jim Gregory. He had a significant impact on the NHL and it’s tough to imagine where the league would be right now without his contributions as an executive. But the GM of the Year award is a pointless award to give out. And here’s why.
First of all, it’s clear only the last 12 months are considered. Most of a general manager’s best moves can’t be judged in merely 12 months. Secondly, consider this year’s winner, Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders. A healthy portion of his roster was built by Garth Snow.
Also, there’s a non-zero chance the Islanders could lose Mathew Barzal and/or Ryan Pulock this offseason. Hypothetically, let’s say a team signs one of them to an offer sheet (I know teams are too cowardly to do that but bear with me). With not a lot of cap space, it’s feasible the Islanders could lose one of their best players because the Islanders are overpaying several players.
light. Related Story. Ranking The 5 Worst Hart Trophy Winners In NHL History
This award should be scrapped because, frankly, a general manager shouldn’t be judged by just a 12 month span. So much of what they do is about helping their team long-term, not short-term.