Mike Fuller’s NHL Awards Predictions

Only a few days to go before the battle for the Stanley Cup begins, it’s time to recognise some of the best performers of the regular season. The real awards will be handed out in Las Vegas in late June, but voting will take place very soon. It’s always a great debate and some are very close this year, here are my picks:

Hart Trophy – Most Valuable Player – Jonathan Toews

Starting with the most prestigious award, it was also the toughest to choose a winner for. The concept of a player’s value to a team often muddies the water of who is most deserving, but I think this superb Blackhawks team wouldn’t have the same identity without Jonathan Toews. He does does it all defensively whilst being such a clutch producer up front, every time I’ve watched Chicago this year he’s driven them forward. Had Sidney Crosby played the entire season it’s not unfair to say he likely would have walked away with both this and the Art Ross, but Sid still has the chance to make his mark on the playoffs.

Honourable Mentions: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Alex Ovechkin (Washington), John Tavares (NY Islanders), Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim)

Art Ross Trophy – Most Points – Martin St Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)

What an achievement for the 37 year old St Louis. His longevity continues to astound as the man who criminally went undrafted takes this award for the second time in his career.

Rocket Richard Trophy – Most Goals – Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

It’s been fun to watch the “Great 8” back firing again in the latter half of this season. Adam Oates switched him over to the right wing for this season and it eventually paid huge dividends.

Vezina Trophy – Best Goalie – Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Bobrovsky has left the Philadelphia Flyers looking very silly this year, he couldn’t have done any more to get his team into the playoffs but Columbus fell agonizingly short. A similar case to Crosby here with Craig Anderson who dominates the goalie stat categories, he simply missed too many games. The best save percentage outside of him belongs to Bobrovsky as well as a 2.00 goals against average, the Blue Jackets have rarely seen those kind of numbers.

Honourable Mentions: Henrik Lundqvist (NY Rangers), Craig Anderson (Ottawa)

Calder Trophy – Best Rookie – Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)

A difficult one without any true standout candidates, I feel Huberdeau playing on a bad team shouldn’t hamper his chances as in my view he’s been the most consistent performer all season. Everything is there for him to go on and be a top playmaker in the league, we’ve seen him showcase his hands numerous times this year particularly in the shootout. Huberdeau ties the point lead for rookies, and is only level because of a late late burst by Nail Yakupov.

Honourable Mentions: Nail Yakupov (Edmonton), Brendan Gallagher (Montreal), Brandon Saad (Chicago), Jonas Brodin (Minnesota)

Norris Trophy – Best Defenceman – Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild)

Many (myself included) feared Suter would suffer slightly without Shea Weber alongside him, but a superb individual season has been an emphatic rebuttal to those sceptics. He leads the NHL in time on ice and has been totally reliable defensively, however it’s the improvement in his offensive game that has been most impressive. Third in points among blueliners is up a level from anything he showed in Nashville and he has clearly thrived on being a go to guy for the Wild.

Honourable Mentions: PK Subban (Montreal)

Selke Trophy – Best Defensive Forward – Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)

A close contest between Bergeron and Toews, but the Bruin should win the award for the second year running. Bergeron averages just under 20 mins a game, routinely faces up against opponents’ best lines and spends a lot of time killing penalties. Yet in 41 games only 16 goals were scored against whilst he was on the ice. Being the best faceoff man in the league helps too, winning an untouchable 61.9% of his draws.

Honourable Mentions: Jonathan Toews (Chicago), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit)

Jack Adams Award – Best Coach – Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators)

I think of any team the Ottawa Senators have faced the most adversity this season and MacLean has done an excellent job getting them into the playoffs. Without his three best players Craig Anderson, Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza for significant periods they were always competitive and rock solid defensively. His moustache isn’t bad either.

Honourable Mentions: Joel Quenneville (Chicago), Michel Therrien (Montreal)

General Manager Award – Ray Shero (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Pittsburgh have a roster to fear and once again were a major player in the regular season, Shero deserves huge credit for that. Additions at the trade deadline tanked them up further for the postseason and even when they do suffer injuries it shows that they have great depth within the organisation.

Honourable Mentions: Stan Bowman (Chicago), Ken Holland (Detroit)

Goal of the Year – Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)

Boyle goes coast to coast, collecting the puck behind his own net, breezing past the defence then deking to the backhand to put it past Nicklas Backstrom. Yes, that is the man I’ve given the Norris to Ryan Suter getting blown by.

Assist of the Year – Rick Nash (New York Rangers)

At first I thought this had just rebounded off Rask straight to Hagelin, but on the replay you can see the amazing poise that Rick Nash shows. He backhands the puck out of traffic whilst falling for his teammate to fire in to an open net, crazy.