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.