NHL: 25 worst award snubs in the history of hockey

25 Worst award snubs in NHL history: 12. Nicklas Lidstrom Hart Trophy 2006

Nicklas Lidstrom is one of the best, if not the best defenseman to ever play the game of hockey. Over his 20-year career, he won the Norris Trophy seven times. He was a finalist four other times. He was the defenseman of the era, taking over for Ray Bourque and Scott Stevens before him. His ability to be great offensively and great defensively at the same time hasn’t been matched since. This is the type of defenseman a guy like Cale Makar wants to become.

Despite being one of the best players in the league for most of his career, Lidstrom was never given the light of day when it came to MVP voting. There was nobody who could dominate a game like Lidstrom, yet he wasn’t considered one of the most important players in the league. The most egregious example of this was in 2006.

Lidstrom had 80 points that season, a career high. It didn’t help that there was an explosion of points that season. Seven players had over 100 points. The MVP voters just picked the two players who had the most points (Joe Thornton and Jaromir Jagr) instead of going for the player with the biggest impact. The Red Wings were the best team in the league. They won 58 games, five more than anyone in the Western Conference.

Lidstrom was the best player on the best team. When looking at the 2005-06 season, the best player in the league was Nicklas Lidstrom. He deserved the MVP.