The NHL recently announced the finalists for their
individual awards, which will be presented to the winners in a ceremony in
Toronto next month following the Stanley Cup Finals.
Here’s the list of nominees in each category and my picks
for the winners. As always I’ll be interested in reading your comments, folks,
just keep it clean.
VEZINA TROPHY (Top goaltender): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey
Devils; Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers; Evgeny Nabokov, San Jose Sharks.
My Pick: Brodeur. Tied for most games played with Nabokov
with 77, was second in wins behind Nabokov with 44 and was fifth behind Nabokov
in GAA with a 2.17 average. However, what clinches it for me was his .920 save
percentage, superior to Nabokov’s .910 and Lundqvist’s .912. He faced the
fourth highest shots of all goalies this season and made the second-most saves.
NORRIS TROPHY (Top Defenseman): Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins;
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames.
My Pick: Lidstrom. Not only did he lead all defensemen in
assists and points but also in plus-minus with +40, well above Chara’s +14 and
Phaneuf’s +12. Lidstrom is the best all-round defenseman playing today.
CALDER TROPHY (Top Rookie):
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Patrick Kane, Chicago
Blackhawks; Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks.
My Pick: Kane, who led all rookies in assists and points
after making the jump from Junior A despite his small size (5-9,160). Kane not
only rose to meet lofty expectations, he excelled and led the Blackhawks in
scoring.
LADY BYNG(Sportsmanship): Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings;
Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres;Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning.
My Pick: Datsyuk. He finished fourth in overall points,
second in overall assists, led the league in plus-minus with +41 and led the
Wings in scoring, all while only racking up a mere 20 minutes in penalties.
Proof that you can excel at both ends of the rink and still play a clean game.
SELKE TROPHY (Top Defensive Forward): Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Red Wings; John Madden, New Jersey Devils; Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red
Wings.
My pick: Datsyuk. Madden is more of a pure defensive forward
but Datsyuk’s defensive game is every bit as strong as his offensive game,
putting him in the same class as former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov in 1994.
HART TROPHY (League MVP): Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames;
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals.
My Pick: Ovechkin. Not only did he lead the NHL in points
and become the first player in 11 years to score over 60 goals in a season but
he also carried the Capitals to their first playoff berth in five years.
ADAMS TROPHY (Best Coach): Mike Babcock, Detroit Red Wings;
Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals; Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
My Pick: Boudreau. Babcock and Carbonneau did a tremendous
job with their teams but both had far more to work with than Boudreau, who took
over a team in disarray early in the season and turned them into a playoff
club.
I agree straight down the line with all your picks as the individuals who SHOULD win.
As to thinking who WILL win... For the Calder, I fear Kane and Toews will cancel each other out and Backstrom will creep up the middle. And it's likely Nabokov will claim the Vezina as a number of voters will think it's time to share the wealth (although Brodeur did far more with far less in front of him than the other two finalists).
And hey, you left the Masterton off your list! Over the last couple of seasons that award has become the "Disease of the Year"; the nominations of Jason Blake and Fernando Pisani follow in that tradition. While I'd be pleased to see Pisani win for all he endured last season, I'd rather the award returned to an "Unsung Hero" type of trophy, and to that end (although he's a little higher profile than a proper unsung hero) you've got to recognize the outstanding career of Chris Chelios.
Agree with it all, except Evgeni Nabokov should get the Vezina, Madden the Selke and the Calder is missing the most deserved player of them all - Tobias Enstrom. That kid played more minutes (24:28 which is nearly a third more than either Kane or Toews) and was only a minus (-5) for that weak side that was the Thrashers. He was their best defenceman and played with a maturity that none of the three finalists showed. Can't believe he was passed up.
Spector, wouldn't Malkin be a better fit for MVP, because he won 2 series, which is two more than Ovechkin won, and he is by far the most impressive player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. He's my pick.
Spec, agree with your picks, the only thing I don't get is why Datsyuk isn't up for the Hart Trophy. You mentioned everything he did, I think he had a better year than Iginla.
Greenspire these awards are for the regular season not the playoffs.
Also Spec, thanks for your knowledge and responding to the masses, or is it massess, anyway, thanks for you great input this year.
Tobias Enstrom did very well for a first-year blue liner, and had he played in a more visible hockey market might have been able to crack the Top Three for the Calder.
Still, he is guaranteed a spot on the All-Rookie Team along with Tom Gilbert (who played just two minutes less a game than Enstrom, but out-scored the Atlanta rookie 13-5 overall and 10-1 at even strength.)
It's going to be fun to watch those two defensemen over the next decade and see what kind of numbers they can put up.
I waited to type a comment for this list of nominees as I agree with all the picks. But the reason I waited was to confirm my opinion for the Masterson trophy should go to Chelios.
Chelios had an incredible defensive stop against Dallas tonight and he cleared the puck after the stop.
He is always someone you know will be tested by the younger players for the opponent and consistently during the season and these playoffs Chelios has been passing the test.
Lyle has Dats winning two trophies so I wanted to wait on the Masterson but for those people who watched tonights game and saw Chelios have to admit that he still the play the game of hockey.
Can't argue with the picks Spec's...One of the few guys on this site that calls it like it is. The practice of writing garbage just to create intrest and notability is something that has been foreign from your articles this year....Kudos...You put Picarello, and Strachan to shame...
Spector, outstanding picks all the way through. As a Red Wings fan, I'm not going to complain about all the nominations my team got. But I certainly see TKF's point of view regarding East-coast bias. If Divey McPhee (our household nickname for Sidney Crosby) was drafted by Minnesota or Vancouver, would he get all the adoration and press that he gets now? I suspect not (completely unprovable claim).
I am very impressed with what Babcock did with the Wings this year. They have a lot of talent, but he's kept them very focused and also instilled in them a team defense concept that is a little scary to watch sometimes. I watch the Wings very closely and can see the huge difference between this team then the Dave Lewis coached versions a few years back. That said, I would have put Barry Trotz of the list of Jack Adams nominees over Babcock. He deserves a lot of credit for what he did in Nashville.
And as much as I love Datsyuk, MVP he is not. Selkie? Definitely. Lady Bing? I suppose. But the Red Wings play a particular team-based style that doesn't really allow you to elevate one particular player to league-wide MVP status.
In defense of Mike Babcock as Coach of the Year (although I must admit he would not be my choice):
What about some recognition for getting star performance out of your star players all season long? And consider: what hand does a coach have in helping his players develop into stars?
Bruce Boudreau did a great job correcting a listing ship in Washington, but how much of his success is "Washington has no talent; look what Boudreau did with nothing" versus "Washington obviously had talent, but it was being massively mismanaged by Glen Hanlon"?
If I release the emergency break, the car runs better on the freeway. Not from anything that I've done that's exceptionally great, but rather from what I've stopped doing that's harmful.
Great coaches on talented teams are underrated. Without Glen Sather as the Oilers coach, I don't believe Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Coffey, Fuhr, Anderson, Lowe and the rest would have developed into the exceptional players that they were. Sather never tried to turn Gretzky into a two-way player. Sather converted Messier to a pivot to make better use of his size, he gave Coffey the green light to go, and he kept the egos in check. Sather helped bring out their best game every night and motivated them to be even better. That's not always the easiest job, and it is one that deserves consideration for the Jack Adams.
Since coming to Detroit in 2005-06, Mike Babcock has won 50 games or more a season for three straight years. He took on an elite team to even greater regular season success. That's worthy of Jack Adams consideration.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on May 13th at 11:00 AM.
Why only focus on that one stat to determine the Vezina ? Why not focus on who had more wins ? Nabokov is deserving.
My vote for coach of the Year would be Carbonneau. No one figured the Habs would make the playoffs either, and they finished first in the East.
Greenspire: Awards are given out based on regular season performance. Ovechkin clearly deserves it. By the way, Malkin didnt advance two rounds in the playoffs, THE PENGUINS did. I guess you've not heard of Johan Franzen either. Come back when you're not an armchair hockeyfan.
Coach of the year I would nominate Denis Savard of the Chicago Hawks.
With three weeks to go Chicago was close to a playoff seed.
He got the youth going and with better goalkeeping earlier in the season he and the Hawks would have been in the playoffs. Toews and Kane will help Savard get the nomination next year that is a prediction I will not be ashamed to make. And the Hawks came to an agreement with a goalie from Finland today, Niemi.
Chicago not having a strong hockey team is wrong.
Finally that is being addressed.
Denis Savard has taken the Hawks (2008) and had them pursuing the playoffs. That is why he would get my nod for Jack Adams trophy.
I know he left the Av's but no one did more with having som many of his top guys out of the lineup most of the season
Smyth and the Joe S both missed more then half the season and with over 350 man games lost to injury he still got them in the playoffs
Barry Trotz
His top 5 players were either hurt or playing in other NHL cities
Starting a goaltender who was never a full time starter falls apart then starts his 3rd string goaltender
Has the distraction in the locker room and all the questions about the team moving yet still gets them into the playoffs.
Coach of the year is who did the best coaching job not who gets to stand behind a bench with a bnch of all stars and the top Dman in the world.
To give you an example. What happened to the REd Wings when Nikky L. got hurt? They played like ####.
A coach of the year would get his team threw that
For you Red Wings Fans who are going to say "well look what round theese guys were drafted in" That is a credit to the front office and scouting department not the head coach
Babcock gets the finished prouduct in the NHL he was not even there when those guys were developing in the minors
He is a top coach do not get me wrong I just feel that there are guys that did a hell of a lot more with much much less
And my trump card is Detroit plays in the second worse division in hockey
In the "Coaches of Teams that Almost Made It" department, I wouldn't put Denis Savard ahead of Craig MacTavish. (And, for that matter, neither did the regular season standings! [*grin*])
Matt McCallum just thinking about the Hawks selling out United and restoring the rivalry with the Wings.
Can Savard have his team upbeat and dreaming the answer is emphatically Yes.
But McTavish was there and did all the pursuing against the Canes.
But you have a good point with Craig because the Oilers are coming on some good signing this summer and they are right in the hunt.
Denis Sarvard is a good man and he's done a great job with the kids thus far. Quality hockey returning to Chicago is a good thing for a proud hockey town and the NHL.
And while "1961" doesn't quite have the same cachet as "1940", the Blackhawks are on pace to tie the Rangers' record of futility in just seven years. I'd like to see them work a turnaround in the Windy City within the next decade. Then "1967" becomes the loneliest number...
Matt if the Blackhawks can win the Cup Chicago fans would definitely support their team and the revenue the NHL would have can only make the NHL better.
The Oilers and Hawks battling out in the Western conference finals would be great for hockey.
I know and like to say that I am prepared for when the Wings are not the team they are now so wanting the Hawks to get it turned around would mean that the central division is on the way to being tough.
Even when things for the Wings slow down some they will still be competitive because the Wings scout out young talent everywhere. But for the Hawks to test the Wings would be good for the NHL and the Wings.
If we're gonna mention Savard and MacTavish, we'd better at least talk about Julien. Took a pretty terrible team and put them in the playoffs. And if we're gonna talk about Julien, we probably might want to mention Stevens over in Philly. Talk about teams taking 180's. If it were between those two and Boudreau, it'd be a tough call.
As I wrote to TFK on another thread it seems like there should be two different Coach of the Year awards: one for the coach of the most improved team and another for the coach who sustains excellence.
The Jack Adams more often than not seems to go to the coach who takes a non-playoff team into the post-season, and in many instances it's a first year, new voice in the locker room guy. It's just as hard (if not harder) to keep a team humming along at the top season after season as it is to jump-start a corpse.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!!!!
I have to disagree with you I think Nicklas Backstrom made an amazing job playing with Alex Ovechkin and he had a great season he's a good player and deservs Rookie of the year!!!
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
